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Football
vs New Hampshire
The Drill Master
10/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Allen Lessels
The 2007 season was four, maybe five, seconds old.
And here came Ian Wilson.
Starting out on the right side on Dartmouth's kickoff unit, he raced down the field and slid toward the middle and eyed the same hole the Colgate kick returner had in mind.
The returner headed for the hole. Wilson, too.
WHACK. THUD.
Wilson met Cody Williams in the hole and drilled him. Just drilled him. Williams, at least, managed to hold onto the ball.
Not all the ball carriers who ran into Ian Wilson ? Dartmouth's pile driver of a strong safety ? could say the same thing on opening day.
“He can make a lot of things happen,” said Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens. “He's just a very physical player who flies around with reckless disregard for his body. And I say that with affection. He's a striker.”
Center Jared Dowdakin, who with Wilson is one of Dartmouth's four captains, has his own term of endearment for the guy he runs into once in a while on the field.
“He's a killer in shoulder pads,” Dowdakin said. “He's as fierce as hitter as I've gone up against. He really brings it.”
And then there's this from associate head coach and defensive coordinator Chris Wilkerson: “So many times he's made big plays for us. And the biggest thing is he's consistent from snap one of game one to snap 60 of game 10. You know he's going to bring energy and enthusiasm and passion and that violence to the position. Just the way he closes on the ball and the ball carrier.”
Ask the Colgate Raider ball carriers about that.
But first, flash back to training camp and Thayer Dining Hall.
Between bites of a sandwich, Wilson talked about what brought him to Hanover and how it was worth it to take loans to get here, about his upbringing in Burbank, Calif., and about how he's the first in his family to go to college. About how much he still likes to play rugby in the spring ? the people who know that game think he's a prime candidate for the national team ? and how he might like to take a shot at professional football depending on how things move along and this season turns out.
He talked about writing poetry and drawing and how he has recently started to play more chess.
And about how he's a relatively quiet leader for a reason and about how his psychology degree will help him to better understand people in whatever he ends up doing: playing, coaching, or something else entirely.
In the course of the conversation, Wilson mentioned that he played all sorts of positions for Loyola, his powerhouse of a high school team that won the Southern Section Division I championship his senior year.
“Running back, quarterback, fullback, receiver,” Wilson said.
He played defensive end, too, and at the time he was about 6-foot, 175 pounds, compared to 6-foot, 205 today.
“I played just about everything except offensive line,” he said.
So, he was asked, did he ever wish he still played quarterback? Or running back? Or receiver?
Wilson smiled.
“Not at all,” he said. “I love hitting people.”
Simple as that.
The “killer in shoulder pads” loves hitting people.
It shows. Really, it shows.
Wayne Young, a former Dartmouth linebacker and longtime radio color guy for the team, said he was with some former teammates after the Colgate game and all agreed: “We think he's one of the hardest hitters we've ever seen and that's going back 35 years,” Young said. “You do something like he did early in the game and it inspires a team. I'm sure that's one of the reasons Dartmouth started so well. Ian sets the tone and says, ?Here we go, boys. We're going after these guys. We're not taking anything from them.'”
Wilson and the Big Green were just getting going on the opening kickoff.
On another kickoff a couple of minutes later, after a Dartmouth touchdown, again Wilson raced down from the right. Again he filled a hole and this time nailed Colgate's Wayne Moten. And this, the ball came loose and Casey Frost recovered and soon it was 14-0 Dartmouth.
Before the half ended, Wilson ? who inexplicably came into the season and game with no career interceptions ? picked off a pair of Alex Relph passes.
It was a personal highlight film of a start to the opener that unfortunately ended in a 31-28 overtime loss to the Raiders.
It was a setback the Big Green set out to build on.
Wilson, the strong safety, and his partner deep in the secondary ? free safety John Pircon ? play a major role in the defense.
“We put a lot on our safeties,” Teevens said. “Ian's the quarterback in the back. He understands the flow of the defense and he's a good communicator. He's quiet, but he doesn't hesitate to let people know what they need to do.”
The reputation as a quiet leader is well deserved.
“Overall, I am quiet,” Wilson said. “The reason why is, I feel a lot of people talk too much. When I say something, I want people to really respect it.”
His teammates certainly do, Wilkerson said.
“Ian loves to play the game and he's extremely passionate about football,” the coach said. “He plays the game the way it's supposed to be played. He leads by example and he's a tremendous mentor and example for our younger players.”
Other than seeing where football might take him, Wilson said he isn't sure what he might end up doing with his psychology degree. But he did spend some time helping a friend coach football over the summer and enjoyed that.
“I think he'd be an outstanding coach,” Wilkerson said. “He understands the game and sees the big picture. He's a student of the game and has the ability to communicate.”
But before that, Wilson has a senior year to finish and a program to help rejuvenate.
Since his season on special teams was cut short as a freshman when he tore his medial collateral ligament, Wilson twice has been second on the team in tackles, with 90 as a sophomore and 89 as a junior. He was honorable mention All Ivy as a sophomore, second team as a junior.
“He has a knack for making big plays,” Wilkerson said. “Big plays at the right time.”
Just ask the Colgate guys.
Allen Lessels is a veteran sportswriter. He is New Hampshire's Sportswriter of the Year as honored by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
The 2007 season was four, maybe five, seconds old.
And here came Ian Wilson.
Starting out on the right side on Dartmouth's kickoff unit, he raced down the field and slid toward the middle and eyed the same hole the Colgate kick returner had in mind.
The returner headed for the hole. Wilson, too.
WHACK. THUD.
Wilson met Cody Williams in the hole and drilled him. Just drilled him. Williams, at least, managed to hold onto the ball.
Not all the ball carriers who ran into Ian Wilson ? Dartmouth's pile driver of a strong safety ? could say the same thing on opening day.
“He can make a lot of things happen,” said Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens. “He's just a very physical player who flies around with reckless disregard for his body. And I say that with affection. He's a striker.”
Center Jared Dowdakin, who with Wilson is one of Dartmouth's four captains, has his own term of endearment for the guy he runs into once in a while on the field.
“He's a killer in shoulder pads,” Dowdakin said. “He's as fierce as hitter as I've gone up against. He really brings it.”
And then there's this from associate head coach and defensive coordinator Chris Wilkerson: “So many times he's made big plays for us. And the biggest thing is he's consistent from snap one of game one to snap 60 of game 10. You know he's going to bring energy and enthusiasm and passion and that violence to the position. Just the way he closes on the ball and the ball carrier.”
Ask the Colgate Raider ball carriers about that.
But first, flash back to training camp and Thayer Dining Hall.
Between bites of a sandwich, Wilson talked about what brought him to Hanover and how it was worth it to take loans to get here, about his upbringing in Burbank, Calif., and about how he's the first in his family to go to college. About how much he still likes to play rugby in the spring ? the people who know that game think he's a prime candidate for the national team ? and how he might like to take a shot at professional football depending on how things move along and this season turns out.
He talked about writing poetry and drawing and how he has recently started to play more chess.
And about how he's a relatively quiet leader for a reason and about how his psychology degree will help him to better understand people in whatever he ends up doing: playing, coaching, or something else entirely.
In the course of the conversation, Wilson mentioned that he played all sorts of positions for Loyola, his powerhouse of a high school team that won the Southern Section Division I championship his senior year.
“Running back, quarterback, fullback, receiver,” Wilson said.
He played defensive end, too, and at the time he was about 6-foot, 175 pounds, compared to 6-foot, 205 today.
“I played just about everything except offensive line,” he said.
So, he was asked, did he ever wish he still played quarterback? Or running back? Or receiver?
Wilson smiled.
“Not at all,” he said. “I love hitting people.”
Simple as that.
The “killer in shoulder pads” loves hitting people.
It shows. Really, it shows.
Wayne Young, a former Dartmouth linebacker and longtime radio color guy for the team, said he was with some former teammates after the Colgate game and all agreed: “We think he's one of the hardest hitters we've ever seen and that's going back 35 years,” Young said. “You do something like he did early in the game and it inspires a team. I'm sure that's one of the reasons Dartmouth started so well. Ian sets the tone and says, ?Here we go, boys. We're going after these guys. We're not taking anything from them.'”
Wilson and the Big Green were just getting going on the opening kickoff.
On another kickoff a couple of minutes later, after a Dartmouth touchdown, again Wilson raced down from the right. Again he filled a hole and this time nailed Colgate's Wayne Moten. And this, the ball came loose and Casey Frost recovered and soon it was 14-0 Dartmouth.
Before the half ended, Wilson ? who inexplicably came into the season and game with no career interceptions ? picked off a pair of Alex Relph passes.
It was a personal highlight film of a start to the opener that unfortunately ended in a 31-28 overtime loss to the Raiders.
It was a setback the Big Green set out to build on.
Wilson, the strong safety, and his partner deep in the secondary ? free safety John Pircon ? play a major role in the defense.
“We put a lot on our safeties,” Teevens said. “Ian's the quarterback in the back. He understands the flow of the defense and he's a good communicator. He's quiet, but he doesn't hesitate to let people know what they need to do.”
The reputation as a quiet leader is well deserved.
“Overall, I am quiet,” Wilson said. “The reason why is, I feel a lot of people talk too much. When I say something, I want people to really respect it.”
His teammates certainly do, Wilkerson said.
“Ian loves to play the game and he's extremely passionate about football,” the coach said. “He plays the game the way it's supposed to be played. He leads by example and he's a tremendous mentor and example for our younger players.”
Other than seeing where football might take him, Wilson said he isn't sure what he might end up doing with his psychology degree. But he did spend some time helping a friend coach football over the summer and enjoyed that.
“I think he'd be an outstanding coach,” Wilkerson said. “He understands the game and sees the big picture. He's a student of the game and has the ability to communicate.”
But before that, Wilson has a senior year to finish and a program to help rejuvenate.
Since his season on special teams was cut short as a freshman when he tore his medial collateral ligament, Wilson twice has been second on the team in tackles, with 90 as a sophomore and 89 as a junior. He was honorable mention All Ivy as a sophomore, second team as a junior.
“He has a knack for making big plays,” Wilkerson said. “Big plays at the right time.”
Just ask the Colgate guys.
Allen Lessels is a veteran sportswriter. He is New Hampshire's Sportswriter of the Year as honored by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
Players Mentioned
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