Wilkins uses jabs as his motivation

TAMPA — Upon taking the USF job last December, Charlie Strong already had briefed himself on most of the talent bequeathed to him. Quinton Flowers, D’Ernest Johnson, Auggie Sanchez all registered with Strong. Veteran cornerback Mazzi Wilkins? Barely a blip. “He wasn’t even on the radar,” Strong said. It only got worse. Wilkins’ first chance to make an impression fizzled when he hurt his hamstring during spring camp. The injured pride that followed was even more excruciating.

“That was probably one of the darkest moments of my life,” Wilkins recalled. “I sat down with [secondary] coach [Blue] Adams, and he was like, ‘You're mentally weak. You probably would never play for me. You’re not flexible enough.’ ”

Wilkins went back home and wrote each of Adams’ scathing critiques on his personal whiteboard. The next morning, he rolled out of bed and began a ritual of trying to touch his toes several times a day. His career at a crossroads, Wilkins literally willed himself to bend, and not break.

“I’m from Tampa, I love it,” Wilkins said. “I felt like I’m too strong of a person to have somebody or some situation run me out from my own hometown.”

Today, Wilkins is as flexible — and formidable — as any cornerback in the American Athletic Conference.

“You can see the fruits of his labor out on the field right now,” Bulls defensive coordinator Brian Jean-Mary said.

Joey Knight, Tampa Bay Times