Second Chances
Oct 31, 2003 | Football
By Sarah Hardy
Sports Information Student Assistant
When Travis Wilson steps out of the locker room and onto the long concrete ramp that leads down to the football field, he is greeted with a sea of purple encompassing the stadium: the steady roar of zealous fans, anticipation and smell of autumn lingering in the air. And, although he is quick to cite many of these joys as some of the best parts of game day, his mind is focused on one thing - the job he came to accomplish.
"That is the first thought which comes to my mind when I step out onto the field," Wilson said. " Because Darren Sproles runs behind me, most of the guys on the other team are looking to tackle him, and they really don't think about me being in between them. It makes me want to go out there and prove them wrong and show them that you're not going to get to Darren that easy."
Indeed, No. 44 has been intent on making a big impact on whatever team he has played for, combining a solid work ethic, toughness and consistency to get to where he is today. Wilson, a 6-foot-4, 240 pound fullback, attended Howell High School in Michigan. While there, he enjoyed a successful career, accumulating 53 tackles and 490 rushing yards as a senior, and being rated the fifth best fullback in the Midwest region according to the Detroit News Blue Chip list. After he graduated, Wilson had many college recruiters sitting in front of him, but chose to remain close to his family and hometown.
Wilson redshirted at Michigan State as a freshman and early on, made his mark in the football program there, scoring the winning touchdown against Notre Dame in the third quarter on a 10-yard catch that put the Spartans up 27-21. After coaching changes left the strength of the football program in doubt, Wilson started looking at other schools. He sent film to Florida State, Notre Dame, Kansas State, Nebraska and Colorado State. K-State was the first school to contact Wilson and offer him a scholarship.
"What I liked about K-State was the chance to possibly win a national championship and that was the biggest reason that I chose to come here," he said.
Wilson’s father, Nick, was also quick to praise the football program at K-State.
"As much as it hurt to see Travis leave home, it was a great opportunity to go play for such a top team," the elder Wilson said. "When we made a commitment to Coach Snyder, everything that he told me would occur happened and he didn’t ever tell me anything that wasn’t true in order to appease me. To have so much integrity coming from a head coach is nice, and everything that he told me I could count on."
The opportunity to play for a national championship proved to be enough for him to uproot from the state he loved, move away from his close knit family, call his girlfriend Candace and hope she would come with him, and move from the lakes of Michigan to the plains of Kansas. In fact, one can’t know Wilson for too long before hearing about his big family. Enthusiasm radiates in his voice as he talks about his family life, and it is evident that it’s full of love, commitment, and humor.
"I loved being the oldest of such a big family, and we're a pretty rambunctious group. Being the oldest, I'd say I'm probably one of the louder ones, motivated, and outgoing, but really all of us are. We all pretty much take off of each other's personalities, and there's no shy one in the bunch."
Laughing, Wilson added, "I don't think you'd survive if you were that shy."
Wilson is eager to praise his parents, who he considers to be his most influential role models. His mother, Deborah, stays at home with the kids, whose ages range from 3 year-old Clay to Travis, and helps her husband with his business. One of the things Travis misses most about home is his mother’s cooking, and when asked what his favorite dish was, like any good son, he had a hard time choosing, because in his mind, everything she makes it good. His father, who runs a developing business out of the house and also played college football, has always supported his son in his dreams of playing football.
"Being the oldest boy, my dad got to spend a lot of time with me, so I think my parents really rubbed off on me and made a big impact in my life. He coached me on little league teams when he wasn't working, so he wanted me to play ball, and I've always loved it since I was real little," he said.
Wilson’s father, Nick, couldn’t be prouder of his son, not only because Nick is his father, but also because he respects Travis as a football player and sees the hard work, consistency and toughness, but also the talent that his son possesses.
"Travis brings toughness and a hard edge to the unit he’s on, and you can’t coach that," Nick said. "You either have it or you don’t. He doesn’t cheat himself or anyone else, but leads by example, and if he gets the ball, that’s just icing on the cake. Travis hunts linebackers for a living, they don’t hunt him."
As Wilson approaches the end of his senior season, there are many big events looming ahead in his future, including graduation, his wedding to his high school sweetheart, and possibly a successful career in the NFL. And as with most changes in life, he has mixed feelings about the end of his K-State football career.
"I'm starting to get a little antsy, it's been a long road with the transfer and a lot of hard work," he said "I'm just excited about this team and this season, getting my degree, and finishing out college in a big way. I'm going to be sad when it's over, though, I know I am."
As for his personal and team goals, it is easy to tell that in Wilson’s mind, they are one and the same. He knows that his personal goals are wrapped up in the team’s goals. Of course, the ultimate hope would be to capture the national championship, but also to capture the Big 12 championship, and to be able to put all facets of the game together in order to have the most well-rounded team possible. And not surprisingly, Wilson’s philosophy about a team relates back to family.
"In a family, you can’t be selfish and worry about yourself, you always have other people in your family to worry about and think about and help out and it’s the same thing with the team. You can’t just think about yourself, because there are always guys out there. You have to pick each other up and help each other out and have each other’s backs so family and team are really the same thing," Travis said.
So, when next Saturday morning hits the Wilson household, the television will be on, the family will be anticipating the start of the game, and little three-year-old Clay will be running around the house in his own miniature football gear. And meanwhile at KSU Stadium, Travis Wilson will be standing on the same concrete ramp looking down onto the field.
All of the fans in the stands have a day off, but for him, it’s a workday. And in the words of his father, he has some linebackers to hunt.
