April 10, 2008 · 6:58 AM

Out of the mouths of freshmen

Mr. Delany, Illinois LB Martrez Wilson said it, not us:

Like many freshmen, Wilson had trouble initially adjusting to the speed of major college football.

“I had to adjust to the speed and then learn to play at the same time,” he said. “That caused me to play slower than my usual speed. I’m getting a feel for the defense better. I know the speed of the game now from playing last season. That helped a lot.

“I chose not to redshirt. I told them I’d work hard and get as much playing time as possible. I got a starting spot on special teams as a gunner, and it helped me a lot to adjust to the speed. Some teams were very fast.”

Such as the first and last teams the Illini played last season, he said.

“The fastest games I played were Missouri and USC,” he said. [Emphasis added.]

Stupid speed.

(h/t AOL FanHouse)

2 Comments

Filed under Big Ten Football

2 responses to “Out of the mouths of freshmen”

  1. Charles Davis
    April 11, 2008 at 12:55 AM

    As a UGA alum and diehard fan who teaches at Mizzou, don’t laugh too hard…Mizzou offensively is frighteningly fast. It’s the D that is slower. But the O is as fast any anyone in the country….

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  2. Senator Blutarsky
    April 11, 2008 at 5:47 AM

    Charles, nobody’s laughing at Missouri.

    The point was that Mr. Wilson named non-conference opponents as the teams he faced with the most speed… a backhanded slap at the Big Ten.

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