Athleticism of Jets' Garrett Wilson springs from parents
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Garrett Wilson had no idea what he was about to listen to or watch.
It was at the end of the biggest night of Wilson’s life. The Jets had drafted Wilson with the No. 10 pick and his head was still spinning. He was handed a set of headphones and then a very special person popped up on the screen, and Wilson felt at peace.
His father, Kenny, appeared and read an extremely sentimental and heartfelt letter to Garrett that blew up on social media. Kenny was beaming with pride as he reflected on Garrett’s life and achievements and offered very sound fatherly advice.
“That was awesome,” Wilson said Saturday afternoon after Jets rookie minicamp. “It kind of just settled me down, just took off the pressure off, and it just meant so much to me. That’s my role model. That’s someone who means so much to me.
“I got really emotional watching it and then seeing it again on Twitter and the reaction people are having. He’s an awesome dad. It’s cool people are seeing that. I’ve always known that.”
Wilson knows he wouldn’t be in the NFL without his parents. It wasn’t just their guidance and love, though; both were athletes, and he said he owes a lot of his athleticism to them.
Kenny Wilson is the seventh- leading scorer in Davidson College basketball history and spent time in the NBA with the Nuggets and the team formerly known as the Washington Bullets. Garrett’s mother, Candace, played football when she was growing up and was “running with all the dudes.”
When a reporter then said that Garrett gets his athleticism from his mom, he replied, “Basically, yeah.”
Wilson’s athleticism is just one of the reasons the Jets added him to their receiver room. The former Ohio State standout has the versatility to line up inside or outside. He has tremendous body control and the ability to go up and catch the football.
The Jets also really like Wilson’s mental makeup.
“His ability to absorb information and the playbook, his drive to be great, the tenacity that he plays with on the football field. When that ball’s in the air, it’s his,” Robert Saleh said. “It’s all-encompassing in terms of the way he’s wired.”
Wilson also has a basketball background, which he feels has helped him as a receiver, especially making leaping catches in traffic.
“Just the constant jumping and getting up and down the floor,” he said. “It’s so unpredictable. It’s not planned out. You’re kind of reacting a lot of the time in basketball. It’s not like running a route where you know where you’re going to break. I feel like that’s really good for you.
“It translates really well. A lot of times you see people that track the ball well and they have a basketball background. You’ve been taught to come and meet the ball since you were in first grade, just things like that.”
Wilson was recruited to play basketball in college as well as football. He said he “fell in love with football,” though, and pursued that path.
Where Wilson grew up had something to do with it. His family moved from Columbus, Ohio, to Austin, Texas, when he was a kid. Wilson attended Lake Travis High School. Football is big in Columbus, but it’s a religion in Austin.
“It was different,” he said. “I got to watch my brothers go through the high school system in Columbus, Ohio. The football games had a good turnout, the basketball games had a good turnout. The whole city shut down when I got down to Lake Travis on Fridays. It was totally different, the support behind the team.
“It was really good to go there and be an athlete. It was new to me, it was awesome. Being an athlete, it’s everything you wanted to see.”
Wilson returned to Columbus to attend Ohio State and was considered the best receiver in this draft. He caught 70 passes for 1,058 yards and 12 touchdowns in 11 games as a junior.
He’s a Jet now and he can’t wait to work with Zach Wilson and learn from veteran receiver Corey Davis.
Rookie receivers have been known to have immediate impacts on their teams. Look at what Ja’Marr Chase did for the Bengals last year. Wilson said he could do the same.
“I’m very confident,” he said. “I think I can have that impact. I’m going to do everything it takes to have that impact.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
