FAYETTEVILLE — Too bad the University of Arkansas can’t funnel to its present quarterback some of the $18 million buyout money it didn’t have to pay to its former coach.
Tyler Wilson would be worth it. And no, not just as a quarterback, though the 2011 All-SEC firstteamer from Greenwood would be worth much of it if colleges could legally offer their players more than scholarships.
For as the Razorbacks quarterback/team leader/spokesman, Wilson is Arkansas’ best public relations personified after the state’s flagship university fired its head football coach in disgrace.
You can’t put a price on integrity, but if you could for saying and doing the right thing in times of crisis, Wilson would merit the millions that the UA didn’t have to pay Bobby Petrino after firing him April 10.
Both forthright yet diplomatic, Wilson publicly answered some tough questions he’s likely asked himself in private.
Does the fifth-year senior now kick himself for not entering this month’s NFL draft since some draft experts have projected he would be the third quarterback taken? Is he tempted to try this summer’s supplemental draft?
Can he come to grips with being conflicted about the departed coach who made him a better quarterback but in a fashion Wilson doesn’t mind to see in the rearview mirror?
Can he deal with Petrino’s brother, Paul Petrino, being the play-calling offensive coordinator?
And can he put all that aside to lead this football team and achieve all that he came back seeking to achieve both for the Razorbacks and himself?
To the draft questions, Wilson answers no, even though he’ll walk through May commencement with a degree in sports management and a minor in communications.
He returned to be a better Razorback and become a better pro quarterback.
“I am 100 percent a Razorback and made that decision already and there is no going back,” Wilson said.
He’s emphatically answered yes to the last questions about leading and achieving, in both words and deeds, which included commanding a team meeting upon Petrino’s firing
Regarding his former head coach, Wilson said: “I think I probably played for the toughest coach to play for in the SEC, and maybe even everything combined. He has pushed me and I have become so much more mentally tough by playing for him, but he is tough to play for. I think at this stage of my career I can have a change.”
As for Paul Petrino, Wilson fondly recalls “Coach Paul” as the first UA coach to recruit him in Greenwood and relishes actually being coached by him as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach rather than just peripherally. Paul was the offensive coordinator/receivers coach his first UA tenure in 2008 and 2009 before returning last December from Illinois to coach Wilson before the Cotton Bowl.
While team player Wilson says “obviously I will respect” what the UA eventually does about replacing Bobby Petrino, he asserts “my push” is for Arkansas to promote from within and keep this staff and this system intact.
Considering the UA is disallowed to literally pay Wilson what he’s worth, the least it can do is pay him heed.
Sports, Pages 14 on 04/18/2012