| Darren Wilson |
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| Defensive Tackle |
Contact: Darren J. Wilson Defensive Tackle Hackensack, New Jersey 07601 CBPM's 2,600th Member Email Address: wilsonjdarren@gmail.com Web: www.cbpm.org/darrenwilson |
| I want the family to be able to understand and digest the truth, also to the athletes. Athletes must not only use their platforms for money and self, but broadcasting the truth and spreading the good word of the truth. |
| TRUTH LOVE RESPECT DON'T BE SELFISH DEDICATION PERSEVERANCE |
| My name is Darren Wilson. You may know who I am. You may not. If you do, it’s probably from senior bowl games or pro days, my highlight tape or agent calling you over the past few months. If you don’t, that’s ok – you will. When I get my shot. I’m going to do big things - very big things. Forgive me if that sounds cocky… I’ ve come a long way, but I’m still a work in progress. It’s important that you know story. The truth is, everything that led me to you has required hard work, humility and learning from mistakes - and there have been lots of mistakes. I grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, raised by my mother and grandmother. I didn’t know my dad, didn’t have a role male model in my life. Mom did the best she could, but she couldn’t stop me from getting in the way of myself. I was constantly in trouble and didn’t have the grades to |
| play sports. I got into fights, got kicked out of class, partied too hard – you name it, I did it. Somehow though, I knew I wanted to be a football player. I was talented, big strong and fast - and I liked to hit. I liked being part of a team, and I loved winning. By tenth grade I figured out how to do enough just to stay on the field. I still got in trouble but I knew I needed football in my life. Kind of twisted, but I Knew I needed It so much that after an injury senior year of High School, I failed my class on purpose so I could repeat 12th Grade. I knew I’d get better medical treatment and physical therapy at home than if I went away to junior college. I know it sounds crazy, but I was thinking of the NFL. I wanted to be in the right hands. After from high School, I went to Dean College in Massachusetts |
| on a football scholarship. It didn't take long for me to piss the coaches off. The BS I pulled in high school didn’t fly with them. Four games into the season, they kicked me off the team. I got kicked out of the next school I went to, made my mom and grandma cry more than a couple of times and then finally hit rock bottom when I was arrested for robbery. When I was late to my weekly meeting with my probation officer, she told me that if I came late again, I’d have to go to prison. I knew she was serious and I knew I didn’t want to go to jail. I had to get my life together. The first step was enrolling at a junior college in Brooklyn simply as a student. Football was out of the question. No coach would touch me. Once I showed that I could keep my grades up and stay out of trouble, they let me try out as a walk on. Pretty soon, I was dominating practice. I took the starting job |
| - and never looked back. In 2011 I had my last drink of alcohol and my last puff of weed. I started taking care of my body. I started paying attention to details. Through it all I keep a list. Of all the coaches I had along the way and the nuggets of wisdom they’d given me. As I got myself together, I went back through that list and thought long and hard about what everyone had tried to teach me… even when it didn’t seem like I was paying attention, I was. When I focused, it was lights out. I dominated juco ball, helping to lead ASA Brooklyn to its best season, anchoring the defense as we went undefeated. I was recruited by Maryland, Kansas and Tennessee, but knew I’d eat up a year of eligibility getting the grades and credits I needed to get on the field. So I went to Elizabeth City State in North Carolina, where I became an All -American and one of the top D2 defensive lineman in the country. I earned invites to the FCS Bowl. Dream Bowl and Senior Scout Bowl and a bunch of pro days. I made Dean’s List, finished with a 3.7 GPA and got my degree. NFL teams started calling. Last May, the Jets brought me in for a three–day tryout and ended up keeping |
| me around for more than a week. They knew I was raw, but saw the talent and the potential. I was the only D2 guy in the room, but I outlasted Big 10s and SECs and PAC 12s. They ultimately went with pedigree, but Coach Bowels and Pepper Johnson made it clear they’d be watching me. I picked up more wisdom, more knowledge and have been getting after it like a beast. Dropping 17% body fat, getting my 40 time down, improving my technique, benching 43x 225.There is no one who is going to outwork me. No one. I’ve tasted where I want to be and know what it takes to be there. Last week I was back at my high school talking with my old coaches and the team about my journey. I used to be a guy who they’d shake their head at when they saw me coming. And I couldn’t blame them. Who could blame anyone who knew me back then for wanting to walk the other way? But now my story is something that can help others, especially the kids. I don’t want them to make the same mistake I did. I want them to know that you can make that decision to turn your life around and when you do, it feels amazing. It changes everything. For them, for my family |
| for everyone who helped me along the way without even knowing it. I am giving every ounce of my soul to make it. I don’t know how many stories like this you’ve heard before, but I’m making sure you know mine. I want you to know my name. I want you to think about me and what 6’3, 310, driven, hungry prepared and a chip on his shoulder can do for you. I am ready for my shot. I am ready for this moment. It’s taken something special just to get to this point. Now I need something special from you – a ladder to climb, an opportunity to prove what I can do. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Thank you for your time and for reading my story. I look forward to speaking with you, (and working out for you) very soon. Sincerely Darren Wilson |
