FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas football program received a nice pre-Christmas present in the form of a graduate transfer defensive back who has been part of one of the NAIA’s winningest programs the last two seasons.
Marian (Ind.) University safety Darrell Wilson (6-3, 210) has announced he will play his final year of college football for the Razorbacks in 2021 as a preferred walk-on.
He chose Arkansas over Illinois, Indiana, Purdue and Western Kentucky among other programs.
“There is no doubt in my mind that I have made the right decision and I am so excited to get down there and work my butt off,” Wilson said Thursday. “I am coming to a place that is one of the up-and-coming programs in college football, and I am going to bring everything I have to help that program keep moving forward.”
Wilson is coming off a 2019 season in which he had 53 tackles, 36 solo stops, picked off two passes, forced two fumbles and recovered one for the Knights (12-1), which reached the NAIA FCS title game.
He was named first-team All-Mideast League had 12 tackles in the title game, a 40-38 loss to Morningside College (14-0).
Marian was scheduled to play a fall season in 2020, but that was axed due to the covid-19 pandemic after practice started and the season moved to the spring of 2021.
Wilson decided to see what other options might be out there for him, including moving up to the NCAA level.
He ended up forming a relationship with Arkansas secondary coaches Sam Carter and Jesse Stone.
“I made my decision to opt out in August and I started reaching out to teams for a couple of months,” Wilson said. “Arkansas reached back a couple of weeks ago and I had a couple of great talks with Coach Sam Carter and Coach Jesse Stone.
“I felt that love and energy from them. Honestly, I am very big person on the vibe and energy and just off the communication as well. They were persistent, and at the end of the day with all the love I was getting, it was a no brainer.”
Wilson will arrive in Fayetteville on Jan. 9.
“I will be there in two weeks and my parents and I are looking for an apartment right now,” Wilson said.
The year 2020 has been a wild ride for everyone, but Wilson is happy with his 2021 destination.
“You know 2020 has been a crazy year overall,” Wilson said. “I didn’t really expect our season to get canceled, but when it did I started to think about my options.
“At the end of the day, I went to Marian to get my degree and that’s what I did. Playing football was just something I loved to do. Making the decision to opt out was probably the hardest decision of my life, but on the other hand I took a leap of faith. God guided me through the process and the way I see it now, I have the chance to play in one of the best conferences in the country, and play at one of the best schools as well.”
Wilson, a former Warrenville (Ill.) Glenbard East prep standout, had 143 career tackles (72 solo stops) and four interceptions during his Marian career.
“I believe my strengths are my height and my length, which is God-given, and the fact that I am hard-nosed and a hard worker,” Wilson said. “I think that has been my calling card. I also have leadership intangibles and a high football IQ. I consider myself the quarterback of the defense and I like to lead and have that one my shoulders.
“I don’t only want to be the best, I wanted to help lift my teammates to be the best also. I am also a great tackler and love to put my nose down and bring that physicality.”
Marian had back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons in what he believes was the NAIA’s version of the SEC.
“Even though it was NAIA, I played in a great league and three of the teams in our league were among the 16 teams in the playoffs, and it could have easily been four,” Wilson said. “We see those teams in our conference year in and year out, and it is the best conference there is in NAIA.”