SAN ANTONIO -- There has been a lot of excitement around Austin (Texas) Lake Travis wide receiver Garrett Wilson since his commitment to Ohio State last spring. The Rivals100 product put his talents on display throughout the week in San Antonio at the All-American Bowl. While the East team came away with the decisive victory, Wilson was arguably the biggest bright spot for the West on Saturday, scoring a pair of touchdowns on tremendous leaping catches.
Wilson enjoyed his week challenging himself against the nation's best.
"It's always great to test your ability against guys like this," said Wilson. "It's just a blessing to be out here. I'm testing myself and seeing what I can do. It's a good prep for college."
One of the highlights of the week was Wilson getting a chance to watch Ohio State defeat Washington in the Rose Bowl with a handful of his future teammates. The Buckeye commits all got together to watch the first three quarters of the game.
"I was with them down in the lounge and it was great to watch the game with them," Wilson recalled. "We were watching the game when (Ohio State) was killing them. Once we left, we started biting our nails a little bit, like, 'what's going on?' but it was just really fun to watch the game with our boys and know that we're going to be in that position and hopefully playing on an even bigger stage next year."
Wilson will be getting a head start on most of his classmates. He arrives in Columbus on Sunday and will be going through winter conditioning with the Buckeyes. With several receivers leaving the program, there is an opportunity there for Wilson to get into the rotation and he knows that.
"Just do what I'm supposed to do, get used to the speed, handle my stuff in the classroom, learn the playbook," he explained. "I feel like I'll be ready to play if I do that. That's why I'm going in early, to get a head start on stuff like that. Hopefully I'll be ready to get playing time by the time August comes around."
Despite numerous distractions over the past year, Wilson never seemed to waver from his pledge to Ohio State. He pointed out why that was the case through all of the turmoil.
"When I committed to Ohio State, I committed to more than just a coaching staff," he explained. "I'm not saying that the coaching staff didn't go into it at all, but I committed to more than just that. Having coach Meyer and coach Day there was a bonus, but I just felt like The Ohio State University is where I belong. That's where I needed to be."
Wilson has also developed a great relationship with first year wide receivers coach Brian Hartline and is eager to get to work with him.
"Coach Hartline, that's my man now," he said. "He came down at least twice last month before I go up there. We're building a great relationship, texting every day, and getting ready to go up there."
