Josh Wilson
Height: 5-9
Weight: 188
Position: Cornerback
College: Maryland
OVERVIEW
One of the fastest players to ever don a Terrapins uniform, Wilson is an avid workout warrior, having won Iron Terp honors in 2005. He also excelled in the classroom and was the recipient of the James Tatum Award, given to the top football student-athlete in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He was also a two-time Academic All-ACC choice.
The two-year starter at the boundary cornerback position, Wilson appeared in 46 of a possible 48 games at Maryland, starting 28 times. Despite not handling kickoff return duties until his final season, he ranks eighth on the school's career record list with 847 yards in returns. He also excelled on special teams, blocking three kicks over the course of his two years starting in the secondary.
ANALYSIS
Positives: Has a lean frame, but it shows good overall body definition … Very strong for a player of his size (350-pound bench press) and uses that to his advantage with his physical play in attempts to press and re-route receivers … A little stiff in his hips, but has very good closing speed to consistently make plays in front of him … Shows valid ball skills and keen field instincts and is rarely caught out of position … Has the sustained quickness to stay on the hip of the receiver throughout the route, and is such a hard hitter that the staff had confidence when lining him up at safety … Bit of a trash talker, but did mature quite a bit as a senior … Best when tracking the ball in flight, as he has the burst to cover ground and break on the ball … Has the awareness needed to read routes and anticipate secondary receiver moves in zone coverage … Aggressive attacking the ball and, while he lacks the loose hips you'd like in man coverage, very few opponents can shake free from him in the open (mostly due to his ability to read routes and quickly recover when beaten) … Needs backpedal technique work (stiff hips), but shows decent balance and the ability to maintain position coming out of breaks … The feel he has playing in the zone reminds you of another undersized Maryland cornerback, Domonique Foxworth, who tutored Wilson earlier in his career … Does a nice job of locating receivers and handling the switch-off when playing the deep zone … Has a good sense to anticipate the plays and shows good closing speed and breakdown ability working in space, especially against the outside running game … Needs to improve his range (needs to build up to top speed and is not sudden, despite his rare timed quickness), but shows good ball skills and timing … Has improved his ability to stick his feet to transition out of his breaks quicker than in the past … Gets banged up a bit working in traffic, but shows the timing and leaping ability to compete for jump balls … Does a nice job of adjusting and reaching around the receiver to break-up passes … Doesn't have natural hands, but has the functional ball skills to adjust on the move and track the ball in flight … Likes to close on the ball in a hurry, especially in run force (lacks the size, but plays with good toughness, using his hands to shed and plays with good leverage) … His vertical agility lets him get to a lot of high passes in attempts to break up the play (good on the tip drill) … Needs to be a more consistent wrap-up tackler, but hits with good pop on contact and shows decent knee bend and balance to fit in space … Plays with a high motor and it is rare to see him throttle down, even when not involved in the play … His leaping ability has also seen him excel as a kick blocker … His straight-line speed and ability to build acceleration makes him a valid threat as a kickoff returner, but ball security is an issue there (five fumbles, three lost on kickoffs in 2006) … Seems to thrive in pressure situations and plays his best vs. top-level competition (will generally cover the opponent's top receiving threat).
Negatives: Plays like he a linebacker, but his small frame takes an unnecessary beating and, while he has not missed game action with injuries, they have cost him some practice time (in 2006, he was forced to wear a boot on his foot after injuring it when stepped on in the Florida International game) … Has hip stiffness that prevents him from opening them and it causes him to get high in his backpedal (result is a herky-jerky running motion coming out of breaks) … Team leader, but a bit of a high-maintenance type who will question the staff quite a bit … Times his leaps well, but the bigger receivers still have an advantage on him competing for jump balls (will give total effort combating for the ball, though) … Needs to be a more consistent wrap-up tackler, as he gets reckless, flies to the ball and tries to deliver a punishing arm tackle, but due to size issues, the bigger receivers and backs are able to absorb those blows and break tackles … Has very good timed speed, but needs to build up to top acceleration and this takes some time to accomplish … Needs to allow a smaller cushion, especially with his hip stiffness, as the faster NFL receivers could take advantage of the space he allows underneath … Active with his hands, but doesn't have the size to face up to offensive linemen and his frame appears to be at maximum growth potential without more weight impacting his quickness … Effective kickoff returner, but has ball security issues (five fumbles in 2006) returning kicks and needs to have the ball tucked and secure before heading up field … The staff says he has natural hands, but along with fumble issues, he fails to catch the ball outside his frame when attempting to reach the pass at its high point and will double catch quite a bit, leading to more pass deflections than interceptions … Has shorter than ideal arms (28 7/8-inch length) that will cause him to have problems vs. the taller receivers in jump ball situations.
Compares To: Domonique Foxworth, Denver -- Like his former teammate, Wilson packs a lot of punch behind his hits for a player his size … He is a smart player who adjusts his game accordingly and has the ability to play cornerback or free safety … He has good speed as a kickoff returner, but needs to field the ball cleanly to stop all those costly fumbles … Despite his speed, he lacks explosion coming out of his breaks and plays the zone much better than he does in man coverage (much better in plays in front of him) … He got away with trash talking at the collegiate level, but needs to open his hips better and develop better hands if he wants to be an elite playmaker at the next level.
INJURY REPORT
2004: Bothered early in the season by a left knee ruptured bursa sac.
2005: Suffered a 12-inch gash on his left shin during early August camp, but did not miss any game action … Missed the second half of the North Carolina game (Nov. 12) after suffering a concussion.
2006: Missed most of practice leading up to the Florida International game (Sept. 23) due to a foot sprain that forced him to wear a protective boot to classes.
AGILITY TESTS
Campus: 4.28 in the 40-yard dash … 350-pound bench press … 495-pound squat … 300-pound power clean … 36½-inch vertical jump … 28 7/8-inch arm length … 8 7/8-inch arm length … Right-handed.
Combine: 4.42 in the 40-yard dash … 1.56 10-yard dash … 2.58 20-yard dash … 4.43 20-yard shuttle … 11.64 60-yard shuttle … 7.07 three-cone drill … 26½-inch vertical jump … 10-foot broad jump … Bench pressed 225 pounds 20 times.
PERSONAL
Graduated in December 2006 with a degree in Marketing … Earned Academic All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in each of his last two years … Son of Valanda and the late Timothy Wilson … His father helped the Terps capture the Atlantic Coast Conference title in each of his three years at the school and went on to a career in the National Football League where he was the blocking back for NFL Hall of Fame halfback Earl Campbell with the Houston Oilers … Josh still carries his father's NFL trading card for good luck … Josh's mother is currently enrolled at the School of Business at Maryland … Born Joshua Wilson on Mar. 11, 1985 … Resides in Upper Marlboro, Md.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2007/wilson_josh
