Wilson overcomes troubled childhood, becomes USF star
Life has never been easy for South Florida linebacker Kion Wilson.
As a young boy growing up in Miami, Wilson would get into all sorts of trouble. By the time he was 13, Wilson was serving a nine-month sentence at the Bay Point Center, a juvenile detention facility. He received the time by shattering a boy’s jaw after he called Wilson’s girlfriend a derogatory name.
Last year, Wilson’s fortunes worsened, when his older brother Kellon was shot and killed in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Three months later, another one of Wilson’s brothers, Darius, was shot and killed while working as a security guard at a Miami nightclub.
‘I’ve never had to go through anything like that,’ South Florida head football coach Jim Leavitt said. ‘I can’t imagine what he went through. For a young man to keep his focus like he has with those kinds of things is remarkable. He is something else, he really is.’
Wilson, a senior linebacker, has been able to overcome all sorts of adversity off the field and has translated it into success on it.
‘Football consumes most of my time, and as long as I’m busy and active, then that’s my loophole. I don’t have to sit around and think about things,’ Wilson said. ‘Football has done a great job with helping me get through things.’
So far this year, Wilson has been a key cog on the Big East’s top-rated defense. He has become the second-leading tackler on the team with 27 and has helped replace the Bulls top tackler from a year ago, Tyrone McKenzie.
But it wasn’t always this good for Wilson.
After finishing his time at the Bay Point Center, Wilson realized that he had to get his act together, and had to get out of Miami.
He moved to Jacksonville and attended William M. Raines High School. It was at Raines where Wilson finally discovered what he was looking for.
He started playing football and found a place where he could let all of his emotions out and find relief from all of his issues.
‘The game of football was great for him because it allowed for him to be very aggressive, and it was away from everybody,’ said Deran Wiley, one of Wilson’s high school coaches at Raines. ‘He could let his frustration out on the field and not get in any trouble. Even in practice, he would let it out. Whatever was bothering him he would let it out, and it showed.’
The game became Wilson’s comfort zone, and it didn’t take long for him to dedicate himself to the sport.
He was the first one at practice and the last one to leave, Wiley said. As soon as the year was done Wilson, began running track to stay in shape for football.
But most importantly, football kept Wilson off the streets and kept him away from any hardships that he had to deal with. He would stop at nothing to make sure he was a part of the game he loved.
The coaches at Raines used to drive Wilson to practice. Instead of trusting that the coaches would know to pick him up, Wilson reminded coaches on a daily basis that he needed a ride.
‘We used to sit back and sit there and say, ‘Watch this right here,” Wiley said. ‘And right at 12 o’clock the phone would ring, and it would be Kion. It was like automatic, like when the sun comes up in the morning. It was just amazing that we had a kid so gung ho about getting better.’
After graduating from high school, Wilson attended Pearl River (Miss.) Community College. He committed to Illinois, but academic issues held him back and forced him to go to community college for two years.
After his second year at Pearl River, Wilson decided to go to South Florida to be closer to his family. Wilson said that his primary source of motivation is his family, and when he got the chance to play at a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) school and be close to home, he simply couldn’t refuse.
‘I feel as if I’m the ticket,’ Wilson said. ‘I’m the first of my family to really go to college and one of the first to achieve a lot of things. I feel as if I can make it to the next level, and I’m going to bring my family along with me.’
Even though Wilson’s life may have had a troubling start, he has been able to preserve and make something out of a gloomy situation.
Nothing fazes him anymore. Instead, he chooses to take everything for what it’s worth and just make himself a better person and a better player.
‘I feel as if things happen in life, and it’s basically a test to see if you’re going to be down about it, or are you going to get motivated,’ Wilson said. ‘I like to use the adversity against me as motivation to make me better.’
Game of the Week
Cincinnati at South Florida
Thursday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
So far, Cincinnati and South Florida have been the only two Big East teams to be ranked this year, and they will meet Thursday night.
Last year when these two teams squared off, Cincinnati quarterback Tony Pike stole the show, playing with a soft cast on his surgically repaired left forearm. Pike completed 20 of his 28 pass attempts for 281 yards and two touchdowns in the Bearcats’ 24-10 victory.
‘I thought he was so tough the way he handled that scenario,’ Leavitt said. ‘He is just so consistent and has just done a real good job in both last year and this year. I think he is one of the best quarterbacks in America, and I don’t think there are any questions about that.’
This year’s match-up pins the Big East’s top-rated offense against the conference’s No. 1 defense. The Bearcats are averaging 42 points per game, while the Bulls surrender just 9.4 points per game.
Both teams are undefeated, and are the frontrunners for the Big East title.
‘It’s exciting for the Big East,’ Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly said. ‘You have got two top 25 teams playing in a marquee match up on TV. This is why our kids come to their respective schools. They want to play in meaningful big games on national television. Hopefully we can get to game time and let these kids put on a good show for both programs.’
