On what was just another first day of football practiceall over the country, rivers of sweat poured off number 70 as he wentthrough the drills at the north end of the field. He was out there witha bunch of freshmen and although he was obviously older than everybodyelse, he played with the kind of enthusiasm you might expect of awalk-on with something to prove.
Number 70 is Ronnie Wilson and by the time7:30 arrived he could have caused a flood of Ark proportions if you hadrun him through an old-fashioned wringer. He was completely drenchedbut there was no sign of letting up. All the other position players hadrun to the locker room but Wilson and a few defensive linemen were keptfor one more set of drills at the goal line. This one was all aboutkeeping the feet moving while spinning out of the grasp of offensivelinemen. It’s tough, it’s physical and it’s probably the last drill youwant to do at the end of a hot August morning when practice is ready toend. Still, Wilson went at it like it was the first drill of themorning. He gave the impression that as long as the coaches wanted towork him our, he would summon whatever energy was necessary to get thejob done.
Now, the first day of football practice on an August morning reallydoesn’t prove anything. There are 26 days of the practice grind beforethe Gators take the field for game one against Hawaii but the fact thatRonnie Wilson was out there practicing again proved that he grabbed andhung on to a life-saving hand that was extended, giving him one morechance.
By now, most of you probably know or are aware of the Ronnie Wilsonstory. You’ve probably heard a dozen versions of the incident where heshot a semi-automatic weapon in the air back in the spring of 2007 andyou probably know all about the failed drug test in January of 2008.That means Wilson is at least on his third chance. For all we know itmight be the fourth or fifth or sixth. Does it really matter how manychances he’s gotten? He’s obviously doing his best to climb out of ahole he dug for himself and as long as he’s willing to climb, isn’t itbest to keep on giving him chances?
Some of you probably wonder what the heck is Ronnie Wilson doing onone of our football fields? You’re probably one of those that think itis such a privilege and honor to be a Gator that anyone bringingdishonor to the program must be shipped out immediately. I know yourtype. I used to be that way, too. Emphasis on used to be. I’ve done a180 because of two things: Avery Atkins death and understanding thatUrban Meyer is about saving the lives of these kids. Because of that,I’m all for as many chances as necessary for kids that want to changefor the better. Better a kid that’s had 10 chances than a kid that isdead.
I hope Gators will take the time to understand. I know they won’t eventry in Tallahassee, Miami and a few other outposts whereself-righteousness is being measured for a brand new suit thismorning. Go to the message boards in some of those places and they’retoo busy calling Wilson a thug and mocking Meyer, their overwhelmingchoice as the Anti-Christ. You can bet they’re having a field day nowthat news has leaked out that Wilson is indeed back in uniform andpracticing football.
And all of these holier than thou types are so busy proclaiming theirrighteous virtues and spewing their anti-Meyer venom that they’remissing out on something that extends far beyond the football field.Maybe they don’t understand that there are some things in life that aremuch more important than winning or losing a game.
Ronnie Wilson isn’t out there because Urban Meyer needs him to winanother football game although it is possible that at some point in thefuture he might be a star who makes a game-winning play. The reasonsthat Ronnie Wilson is practicing football again have far less to dowith football than you can imagine. Football is simply a vehicle here.It’s a vehicle to help him regain his own self-respect. Nobody knowsbetter than Ronnie Wilson that Ronnie Wilson got him in this fix andnobody knows better than Ronnie Wilson that it’s possible to proveyou’re a man who’s learned his lessons and no longer the boy that madethose stupid mistakes.
Meyer’s been doing this type of thing for years. He wins a lot offootball games and that earns him well-deserved pats on the back butthe thing I think he does best is reach out to kids who are at risk.The euphoria of winning a football game lasts only a little while. Thesatisfaction of helping an at risk kid get his life on the right tracklasts a lifetime.
That’s why Meyer continues to reach out to kids who have mademonumental blunders. He gives them a second, third and fourth chances.Sometimes more. As long as the kid shows that willingness to keep onfighting to turn his life around Meyer will give another chance.
Another chance doesn’t mean a carte blanche pathway back to privilege.There is no free lunch here. Nothing is easy. Everything is earned.It’s a serious dose of tough love but the key here is the love. Meyermight not like what the kid has done but he won’t ever stop loving thekid.
Not every kid is willing to do it Meyer’s way. To do it Meyer’s way,you have to make good grades, you have to live your life right and youhave to show that you are either changed or in the process of changing.Some kids think it’s too Boy Scout for them and they choose to transferrather than earn their way back on the team by following Meyer’s rules.It’s obvious by the number of transfers in the last three years thatquite a few kids would rather take the easy way out than try to redeemthemselves by following Meyer’s redemption plan.
And this is why Ronnie Wilson needs to be applauded.
No, we don’t applaud him for making the stupid, immature mistakesthat cost him his scholarship and might have cost him a chance to earna large amount of money as a professional football player someday. Wedo applaud him for being man enough to face up to his mistakes. Weapplaud him because he’s willing to endure any and all criticism toprove that he’s not the kid that did all the dumb stuff.
He’s playing football again and he’s doing it on his own dime. He’sbeen working long hours at Home Depot while still carrying a full loadof classes. He’s not getting any special privileges either. He can’teat at the training table. He doesn’t get free books or a check at thebeginning of every semester to pay for his room and board. He still hasto go to class and make good grades but he doesn’t have all thetutoring advantages that his on-scholarship teammates have.
It would have been so much easier if he had done what a lot of folkssuggested and transferred to Georgia Southern or Bethune-Cookman. Theywould have loved him and nobody would have made a big deal about whathappened at Florida. He stayed, however, and earned one more chance toplay football by getting every other priority in life straight. If hedoes nothing else, he has done something very important with his life.
I have no idea if Ronnie Wilson will ever be anything more than apractice player for the Florida Gators. I hope he becomes a big starbut that chance might have already come and gone. What hasn’t come andgone is his chance to be a real man. A lot of kids play football. Someof them become real men. I hope that Monday was just another step onthe long road Ronnie Wilson will take toward being a real man.
