Gamecocks LB Wilson not letting size get in his way

By Joseph Person - The (Columbia) State

COLUMBIA -- South Carolina middle linebacker Shaq Wilson's maternal grandfather is 7 feet tall. He has an uncle on his mother's side who is 6-5.

Unfortunately for Wilson's hoop dreams, he got his height from his father, who measures 5-2.

“My mama's taller than me,” said the 5-11, 210- pound Wilson. “I still look my mom right in the eye.”

But Wilson's stature has not inhibited him on the field. After Wilson took over for the injured Rodney Paulk, who sustained a season-ending knee injury in the N.C. State opener, many observers figured Wilson was too small to hold up against the beefy SEC offensive lines.

The critics appeared to be right when Wilson finished with one tackle in his first career start the following week at Georgia.

Nine weeks later, Wilson is the Gamecocks' leading tackler with 69 stops, and has posted double-digit tackle totals in three of the past four games. But what Wilson remembers is USC lost three of those four games.

“The stats will come, but I want to win,” he said after Wednesday's practice. “We've got two games left. We want to go out on top. We want to be different around here.”

USC faces No. 1 Florida on Saturday before closing the regular season against 24th-ranked Clemson on Nov. 28.

Wilson grew up in Lakeland, Fla., and went to high school in Jacksonville. But his family pulled for Florida State and did not keep up with the Gators, who did not recruit Wilson.

After deciding in seventh grade he was not big enough to be a standout basketball player, Wilson focused on football. He modeled his game after smallish Florida State linebackers Ernie Sims and Buster Davis, and was recruited as a safety or linebacker, the two positions he played in high school.

Wilson chose the Gamecocks over Georgia Tech, Minnesota, Ole Miss and South Florida, and enrolled early in January 2008.

He began this season on the second-team defense before Paulk tore a knee ligament.

“That was horrible. I didn't think it was that serious. I just thought I'd go out there a couple plays and he'd come back in,” Wilson said.

With USC's strength coaches imploring him to gain weight, Wilson eats the way most people would like to — cinnamon buns, milkshakes, snacks before bedtime. The calories have not stuck.

“I think I play bigger than what I weigh,” he said.

All heart.

Gametime

Florida (9-0, 7-0 SEC) at South Carolina (6-4, 3-4)

When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia

TV: CBS (cable channel 5 in Rock Hill)

Radio: 107.1 FM