Wilson’s World: Quarterback, jet-setter
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Denver Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett admits he worried at first when he saw Russell Wilson jetting off seemingly every weekend to one locale after another.
There’s the team’s new quarterback on the red carpet in Times Square for the launch party of the SI Swimsuit issue with his singer/model wife Ciara on the cover. There they are at the White House’s annual Easter Egg hunt. Or taking in the Cannes Film Festival one day on their French holiday and the Monaco Grand Prix on another.
Last weekend, Wilson gave the commencement speech at Dartmouth College and after the team’s mandatory minicamp concludes this week, he’ll root on the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup final against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Ball Arena.
“It’s funny. I think when it first started, you’re like, ‘Whoa! Are you gonna be able to pick all this stuff up? Are we gonna be able to own the offense like we want to?’” Hackett said this week after the team’s first day of mandatory minicamp. “But he does such a great job at surrounding himself with great people that help him out so that he can do all these things and still focus only on football.”
Now, Hackett actually marvels at Wilson’s ability to globetrot while not missing a beat when it comes to the offense the Broncos are installing.
“I mean, he’s nonstop working,” Hackett said. “If he’s on a plane, he’s watching film, he’s studying, he’s calling people, he’s calling me.
“And that’s what you appreciate. So you know what, everybody’s professional. Everybody does things different. Some people are here and they might not work even as hard as he does when he’s leaving.”
Wilson said football doesn’t suffer as a result of his busy schedule because “football is the No. 1 priority.”
“You do everything you can to spend extra time to get in early, leave late and do all that stuff. One of the things I believe in is that you pour your whole self into it and no matter where my feet are I’m going to put my whole everything I have into it,” Wilson said. “So when I’m here — even when I’m away from here — the coaches and I, we’re constantly talking. Players, we’re constantly talking.”
Besides, Wilson said he’s never been one to take it easy.
“I’ve always been busy, you know? Everybody’s always shocked how busy I am. I’m like, ‘You think this is busy? I took 18 credits every semester in college, I played two sports, played football and baseball,” Wilson said.