Skye Wilson overcomes obstacles to sign with West Georgia
Even as a freshman, Skye Wilson seemed destined to one day be a college football player, even if the road he had to travel to finally reach his destination was mostly uphill.
But reach the finish line he did and on Wednesday, the Ridgeland senior was rewarded with a scholarship to emerging NCAA Division II power West Georgia.
“It feels good,” Wilson said. “I’m just glad West Georgia gave me the opportunity, both academically and to further my (football) career. I’m going to take full advantage of it and make something out of it. I’m very fortunate to have this opportunity.”
“I just have to thank my coaches, teachers, family and everybody. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be where I’m at right now.”
Wilson was a freshman phenom at Signal Mountain High School in Tennessee before moving to Ridgeland. But a serious knee injury would effectively take away nearly two years of his high school career as he worked tirelessly to rehab the knee back into shape.
“Talking with doctors when he first got here, it was a very major knee injury,” Ridgeland head coach Wesley Tankersley recalled. “He had multiple torn ligaments and his surgery was worse than most so to be overcome it, both physically and mentally was tough.
“But he took it slow and didn’t rush things and he was eventually able to come back and be very productive out there.”
Back in the starting lineup as a senior, he became a force for the Black-and-White at defensive end, finishing
with 40 tackles, 40 assists, seven sacks and two forced fumbles as Ridgeland went on to win the Region 6-AAAA championship.
He was also named a first team All-Region performer on defense and helped out on offense with 22 carries for 122 yards and two scores.
Wilson said had considered Shorter University, but was planning on going the junior college route to eventually wind up at a bigger program. However, he said he just couldn’t pass up the offer from West Georgia, adding that the deciding factor was the environment at the Carrollton school
“I just feel at home there,” he explained. “They have a lot of support down there. The coaches make sure you are going to give it your all and push you to the limit and I like that. I want to make the best of it.”
Standing 6-foot-1 and weighting close to 230 pounds, Wilson said the Wolves’ coaches plan to play him at linebacker.
“I think he’s just going to get better over the next few years and he’ll be able to do things on that knee that he wasn’t able to do this past season,” Tankersley added. “I think West Georgia and other schools that recruited him saw that as well, but West Georgia’s program has really taken off in the last few years. They have a new stadium and other good things are going on down there and I think that really appealed to him.”
Wilson said he is considering a major in Sports Management.