Isaiah Wilson began playing football at 10-years-old as a way to drop a few pounds. Instead, he found a way to pick up a college scholarship and a better future.
That heavyset kid is now a 6-foot-6, 325-pound offensive lineman at Poly Prep and the No. 2-ranked player nationally in the 2017 class by ESPN. Wilson holds 18 offers from Auburn, Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, South Carolina, Rutgers, Nebraska, Miami, Florida State, and Maryland, among others. Despite his success, he hasn’t forgotten where the journey started.
“It’s always remarkable to look back at it,” Wilson said. “I was playing just because I wanted to lose some weight and then try to fill out. After that one year I realized that football was my passion and my love.”
That first season wasn’t even contact football, but flag. Still, Wilson’s interest was piqued enough that he began playing with the Brooklyn Renegades youth program and the pads have remained on since.
He still wasn’t in what he would consider great shape when he arrived at Poly. Wilson, who was 240 pounds as a freshman, described himself as a “kind of lanky, non-weight-training kid.”
That quickly changed once he dedicated himself to the weight room. Wilson put his improved strength and size on display during a breakout sophomore year. Poly’s running game didn’t miss a beat after the graduation of Jay Hayes, now at Notre Dame, with Wilson and Rutgers commit Justin Morgan on the line.
“To see him grow as a person and a player has been great,” said Poly’s Boston College-bound tight end Ray Marten.
The maturity has shown off the field as well. Blue Devils coach Dino Mangiero praised the way Wilson has handled all the attention that comes with being a national recruit. Each offer is exciting, but he keeps himself grounded through it all.
“It’s not gong to his head and I give him credit for that,” said Mangiero, who played six seasons in the NFL. “He has every single university in the country after him, calling him, texting him. Some other kids can get big heads, but he is handling it all really well.”
We haven’t seen the best yet from Wilson in Mangiero’s eyes. Despite his success, rankings and offers, Mangiero sees a young kid still finding his way and learning the position. Mangiero says Wilson needs to play lower when blocking, but he fully believes the future for him is very bright.
“He still has a lot of work to do, but no doubt about it, he is going to be a great one,” the coach said.
Great is what Wilson wants this year’s Blue Devils team to become, by earning a place among the undefeated teams of the past. He hasn’t officially cut his list of schools, but did mention his 10 favorites at the moment. Those are on the back burner right now. The only team that matters for the next two months is Poly Prep.
“The last few months I was just taking everything in,” Wilson said. “I’m just trying to focus on football now and not get too high on myself. My teammates and coaches are helping me say grounded.”
