COLUMBUS
- A few weeks ago, Lawrence Wilson stood on the
50-yard line of Ohio Stadium and stared at the 101,568 empty
seats.
``This place is huge,'' said the defensive end from
St. Vincent-St. Mary. "The biggest stadium I ever played in
was against Hoban at the Rubber Bowl. I can't wait to hear the
crowd when this place is packed.''
That will happen Saturday when Ohio State opens its season
at noon against Miami of Ohio. And the true freshman will be
playing, as he's listed second on the OSU depth chart behind
Highland High product Mike Kudla.
"Lawrence is looking GREAT,'' coach Jim Tressel wrote in an
e-mail. "He will definitely contribute this year!!! His
attitude is awesome!! Very coachable, excellent work ethic,
great ability. We could not ask for more!!!''
Tressel might have set a record for exclamation points in a
short e-mail, but it just shows how Wilson made an immediate
impact on the usually reserved and cautious coach.
Understand that the Buckeyes love Kudla, but he's a senior.
It's reassuring to have a freshman who is ready to perform
right now as a backup. The Buckeyes also believe in keeping
linemen fresh. They believe Kudla and Wilson can be a
tremendous combination at a position they call ``Leo,'' which
is the defensive end who pressures the quarterback.
Buckeyes coaches have been amazed at Wilson's quickness,
his ability to make life miserable for anyone trying to block
the 6-foot-6, 255-pounder.
And to think Wilson spent much of his young life wanting to
be a basketball player.
``When I first meet Lawrence's family, they mentioned to me
how they all thought his future was in basketball,'' St. V-M
coach Keith Wakefield said. ``They saw football as just a good
way to stay in shape for basketball.''
As he told the story, Wakefield then paused for effect.
``I said they may want to think twice about that, because
Lawrence was really developing in football -- and don't be
surprised if the big school came after him,'' said the coach.
Wakefield was right.
During his senior year, virtually every major football
school contacted Wilson. He was also playing basketball for
the Irish.
``He just couldn't decide between Notre Dame and OSU,''
Wakefield said. Eventually Wilson gave an oral commitment to
Notre Dame.
Waiting game
At this point, Tressel was smart. The Ohio State coach
never bad-mouthed Notre Dame or the Irish coaches. He wished
Wilson the best. He didn't drop a guilt trip on the St.
Vincent-St. Mary star about not playing close to home.
As Wilson said, ``Coach Tressel is a class act.''
So when Tyrone Willingham was fired as Notre Dame's coach,
Wilson began thinking about Ohio State -- again.
After last football season, Wilson went back to playing
basketball as a standout forward for the Irish.
``Had Lawrence decided to concentrate on basketball, he
would have been a surefire Division I player,'' said Keith
Dambrot, the former St. V-M basketball coach and now head
coach at the University of Akron.
But football was becoming Wilson's future.
``My friends and kids at school were all wearing OSU
stuff,'' Wilson said. ``I knew where they wanted me to go.''
Once Wilson said he was reconsidering because of
Willingham's firing, Tressel began recruiting Wilson again.
``The big thing was he came up to one of Lawrence's
basketball games,'' said Dru Joyce II, the St. V-M basketball
coach. ``Then Coach Tressel took Lawrence, his family and
myself out to dinner.''
Joyce was impressed. He knew what Wilson would do.
``Coach Tressel makes you feel comfortable,'' he said.
``He's not full of himself, like some college coaches. He's
intelligent. He just makes you feel good about him and his
program.''
Joyce then added, ``My son Dru never played football, but
if he did and Coach Tressel wanted him, I'd want my son to
play for Coach Tressel.''
Wilson's parents came away with the same thought. So did
Wilson.
``I knew I was making the right decision,'' he said.
His football coach was excited.
``I told Lawrence this is a gift to his parents,''
Wakefield said. ``They can drive two hours every Saturday and
watch him play.''
Having options
There's another part of this story, one that's easy to
miss: Wilson was an elite high school athlete, yet he played
two sports in the era of specialization.
``We can't go too far with that,'' Joyce said. ``Football
has helped some of my players. I think it made Romeo (Travis)
tougher, and look what he's doing as a basketball player at
Akron. Sian Cotton played basketball for me, and now he's at
Ohio State for football.''
Cotton is a 315-pound backup defensive tackle. He was a
6-foot-4 center for the Irish in the LeBron James era.
Now consider that basketball was Wilson's passion. What if
he skipped football and just stayed with basketball? He was
always tall for his age, so that would have made some sense.
Besides, why risk an injury in football?
``But you never know how a kid will physically mature,''
Joyce said. ``Lawrence grew into a football body as he got
older. He could have played Division I basketball, but his
real future is football.''
No one is saying it, but if you're good enough to get on
the field as a pure freshman at Ohio State, you will be good
enough to eventually be seriously considered by the NFL.
Especially when you're built like Wilson, who was 6-6 and
about 225 when playing basketball and now is about 255 after
spending a summer working out. And he's simply filling out.
``I knew he would,'' Wakefield said. ``Lawrence loves the
weight room. He's a coachable kid. That will serve him well at
OSU.''
Joyce mentioned that Wilson is very polite, a solid
student.
``You can't stay mad at him,'' said the basketball coach.
``With Lawrence, it's, `Yes sir, no sir.' He comes from a
great family. He's so respectful. That impresses you.''
It obviously did Tressel, which explains how Wilson leaped
up the depth chart.
