LaSalle’s Willson making strides in first NFL season
Rookie tight end flourishing with the Seahawks
SEATTLE — Seems as if your name is Wilson — or Willson — and you play for the Seattle Seahawks, there is baseball in your blood.
Russell Wilson, the former minor league player for the Colorado Rockies, is the same Russell Wilson who quarterbacked the Seahawks to a wildcard playoff win in his rookie season last year and has the ’Hawks off to the best start in franchise history at 8-1.
Luke Willson, the Seahawks rookie tight end from LaSalle, also is the same Luke Willson who played with Brett Lawrie, batted cleanup for Canada’s national junior men’s baseball team and signed a free- agent deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.
“Personality, makeup, work ethic, compete level, potential, intelligence, passion ... he’s off the charts,” said Greg Hamilton, rattling off a list of positives as long as Willson’s wingspan.
That appraisal would look great on anybody’s draft dossier. So why is it, then, that a baseball guy (Hamilton is the director of Canada’s national baseball teams) speaks so glowingly of a 23-year-old who turned his back on the diamond game and pointed toward a career in the National Football League?
“Big men with big power from the left side are at a premium in baseball,” Hamilton said. “But Luke’s baseball passion was his secondary passion. He dabbled in both. You don’t often see many kids these days who switch from one uniform to another as the seasons change. There aren’t too many two- sport guys anymore in youth sports. It’s why Luke is something of a throwback, a guy who thoroughly explored both opportunities and chose one. I’m really happy for him. He really doesn’t look at baseball in his rear-view mirror.”
“We’re a resilient team, full of unique pieces from a lot of different places, and Luke is one of them,” cornerback Richard Sherman said. “Luke is my guy. I’m sure he feels great being a Seahawk, being a rookie from Rice and all.”
Taken by the Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL draft (158th overall) from Rice University, Willson has a track record for over-reaching, much like the other Wilson — Russell — the third-round pick (75th overall) who became the biggest steal of the 2012 draft.
As a rookie, Wilson told coach Pete Carroll he could be the team’s starting quarterback. Now, in his second year, he could lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl.
“It’s pretty special to play with Russell, just watching the plays he’s able to make,” Willson said. “His toughness is unmatched. He’s a great leader, really inspiring. You just want to play hard for him.”
Willson’s alma mater Rice, a private university, is the Texas version of Ivy League.
In the newest rankings by U.S. News & World Report, the Houston school is 18th among national universities. Being a member of the Owls football team means you have to give a hoot about the classroom.
With only 3,000 undergraduates, however, Rice continually is punching above its weight class to make a dent in NCAA Division 1 competition. The Owls recruit football talent capable of achieving the school’s high academic standards, casting a wide net that reaches into Canada.
Edmonton Eskimos offensive lineman Scott Mitchell, the second overall pick in the 2011 Canadian Football League draft, Hosam Shahin, a defensive tackle from Hugh Boyd secondary in Richmond, and Vancouver College grad Christian Covington, another defensive tackle from the West Coast, are among those Canadians who have positioned themselves for professional football at Rice.
“Rice tries to look for the hidden gem,” Willson explained.
“I originally went there for both baseball and football. Academics is another reason. It’s hard to get in there.
“I was recruited by a number of schools, actually. But Rice was my first offer, I’d built a relationship with them ... and they have an incredible tight ends coach. I learned a lot from Dave.”
Dave is David Sloan, the Rice tight ends coach who spent seven seasons with the Detroit Lions.
Just as Purdue is called the “cradle of quarterbacks” (Drew Brees, Bob Griese, Len Dawson, etc.) Rice could be “Tight End U.”
In 2013 alone, Willson went to the Seahawks, Vance McDonald, another tight end from Rice, was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round and a third Owls tight end, Taylor Cook, signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent.