INDIANAPOLIS — Football was not Jack Wilson’s first plan.
When he was growing up, the sport didn’t seem to match his skill set. Wilson was always taller than everybody else, towering at 6-7 in eighth grade.
The basketball court seemed like his past, present and future.
But his future might actually be in football. Wilson, a mountain of a man who sandwiched a college football career at Washington State in between basketball stints at Oregon State, Idaho, Washington State and Minnesota, is in an NFL locker room now.
Indianapolis signed the 6-11, 310-pound prospect as an intriguing developmental prospect, a former basketball player trying to make the transition to the NFL as a career. Wilson would be the tallest player to appear in an NFL game. Richard Sligh, a 7-foot, 300-pound defensive tackle, appeared in 8 games for the Oakland Raiders in the AFL in 1967.
“I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to get back to football,” Wilson said. “It’s the sport I fell in love with, starting at Washington State.”
Washington State was the first place he ever put on pads.
He had always been a basketball player. Bigger, taller than almost everybody around him, Wilson grew up in the sport, playing on an advanced Nike team while growing up in Montara, Calif., and Team Arsenal (AAU) in addition to his high school career at Junipero Serra.
“Everybody needs a big guy who can kind of move,” Wilson said.
Wilson was a little more than that on the basketball court.
ESPN rated Wilson as a four-star recruit.
Basketball gave Wilson a chance to accomplish his most important goal.
“I wanted to be the first person to graduate from college in my family,” said. “I had a bunch of offers in high school, and I wanted to make sure that stayed. I wanted to go to college and get my degree.”
Wilson landed at Oregon State, then transferred to Idaho and started working towards a degree in strength and conditioning. He was a good rotational player at Idaho, but not a star, and he began pursuing a career in strength and conditioning, meeting with Washington State’s Dwain Bradshaw about an internship.
The next thing he knew, he was in a meeting with Cougars football coach Nick Rolovich.
“I wanted to be more physical,” Wilson said. “There was something attractive about that.”
Wilson spent two seasons at Washington State, playing in 25 games and falling in love with the sport. Not only did he love the physicality, but Wilson loved the camaraderie of the locker room; former Cougars tackle Abraham Lucas, now in Seattle with the Seahawks, helped lead Wilson to his faith in college.
The experience struck a chord in Wilson.
He didn’t give up on basketball totally, playing a little bit at Washington State and then at Minnesota in pursuit of a master’s degree in health and exercise science, his pursuit after fulfilling his original goal with a social science degree from Washington State.
When basketball finally came to an end, though, Wilson started thinking about returning to football.
“The process just kind of happened fast,” Wilson said. “I got in touch with an agent, he informed me I had the opportunity for some workouts. Basically went for it, saw that there was a consistent message from teams that I could have an opportunity on practice squad.”
Wilson likely will not make an impact for the Colts this season.
There are 16 spots on the practice squad, and a handful for every team are reserved for developmental players like Wilson, whose 6-11 frame, basketball-style athleticism and powerful physique make him an ideal prospect at offensive tackle.
But he’s happy he landed in Indianapolis. Wilson worked out with several teams, and only one stood out to him.
“This is where I really wanted to be,” Wilson said. “I loved (Colts offensive line coach Tony Sparano), just from the one workout I had.”
Wilson has a chance now.
While it’s not common, there have been plenty of former college basketball players who’ve made the transition to the NFL, including long-time Colts tight end Mo Alie-Cox, who was part of VCU’s Final Four runs as a titanic power forward.
Wilson’s a little big to be a tight end.
But he’s hoping to be the next basketball player to make it in the NFL, hoping to turn a sport he didn’t pick up until 2021 into a career.
The Colts are giving him that chance.
