Wilson Puts Past Behind Him and Soars at Florida Gators Pro Day
Photo: Marco Wilson; Credit: University of Florida athletic association
When Marco Wilson became the fourth cornerback in program history to start in week one as a true freshman in 2017, he never could have imagined that his departure from the Florida Gators would have gone the way that it did.
Wilson left the field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for the final time on Dec. 12, 2020, one that he had gotten to know well in his four years with the program, to the sound of boos. Florida's shot at a College Football Playoff run was all but gone as the Gators lost to unranked LSU that night, and that can in part be blamed on a personal foul penalty that Wilson committed near the end of the matchup.
Less than two minutes remaining, tie-game, third-and-10 for LSU at the Tigers' own 25-yard-line. Quarterback Max Johnson completes a pass to tight end Kole Taylor in the flats that Wilson stopped for a gain of four, forcing a fourth down and most likely a punt. Florida owned the No. 1 passing offense in the nation, and with the ball in their hands, odds were they could seal the contest.
Then the cornerback took Taylor's cleat, which had fallen off as Wilson secured his tackle, and threw it the length of a first down, at least.
Brad McClenny-USA Today Network
Flags flew from different directions and a personal foul was enforced, negating Wilson's play and blowing the chance for UF's offense to score once more. A new set of downs and an opportunity to win the ball game were back in LSU's hands and they didn't let those slip.
Wilson left the field that night only to play one more game in a Gators uniform, in the next week's SEC Championship Game. He opted out of the team's Cotton Bowl appearance vs. Oklahoma, hoping to put the past behind him and begin a new adventure: Chasing an NFL career.
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"Sometimes the LSU play kind of gets brought up. But I don’t run away from it. It’s part of my life, and things happen."
NFL Draft prospects undergo a grueling four-or-so month process of training, on and off the field, and interviewing with teams before the annual selection ceremony. In these interviews, scouts are tasked with learning the ins and outs of each player they meet.
Knowledge of Xs and Os is obviously required, and these meetings test that. But scouts will dig into a prospect's family history, habits and hobbies, and any potential red flag as they pertain to character concerns.
Naturally, Wilson has had to answer to his infamous shoe toss along the way, as such. It was something considered detrimental to his team's success - you'd better believe NFL teams would have questions about it.
"I just answer them in the way I need to," Wilson proclaimed. "The LSU game, [I] had a lot of energy, made a good play. I was excited and just made an unfortunate mistake. That’s how that is. I wished it never happened, but things happen."
That thing wasn't forgivable in the eyes of some UF fans. Florida reached new highs offensively throughout the season under the leadership of quarterback Kyle Trask, but was seemingly always held back by subpar, or worse, defensive performances.
Walking into the SEC Championship with a 9-1 record and playing Alabama the way that they did, or perhaps even winning that game in such a reality, probably would have put the Gators in playoff contention or at least under strong consideration for a spot in the bracket.
Instead, UF's National Championship hopes were untied like laces, thanks to a blunder from its defense but one unlike any that the unit had caused to that point in the season.
Wilson told ESPN that he received death threats and racial slurs in the wake of his wrongdoing. Wilson has learned to limit his social media feed and block those types of messages, but he doesn't block out the opportunity to learn from his error and continue to grow.
“I just really learned how a silly mistake could affect me," said Wilson. "I was getting just disgusting messages in my Instagram, stuff like that. Just seeing how quick people can turn on you and how negative they can really be in a tough situation, and how people could really not understand how things may play out in life. But it’s understandable."
Making note that he had never before been called for a personal foul, Wilson doesn't believe the incident should be labeled as a character concern. Throwing his opponent's shoe, and quite frankly any similar type of taunting, isn't something that Wilson has ever been known to do.
Still, the gaffe allowed Wilson to check in on his own psyche. Checking Instagram direct messages for a time being couldn't have been healthy, but the torment allowed him to take a step back and balance his physical and mental health.
"I’m unhappy that it happened but happy at the same time, because it taught me a lot of lessons for moving forward in my life.”
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Wilson needed to find a way to make people forget about the LSU game, fans and NFL decision-makers alike. So, he went on to produce one of the best pre-draft workout performances among cornerbacks in history.
The numbers back this up. Wilson's 4.37 40 yard dash time would rank in the 89th percentile among cornerbacks in the NFL Draft over the past 20 years according to MockDraftable (which does not include 2021 results in its database yet).
Wilson's 43.5-inch vertical jump is the fifth-highest ever by a cornerback. His knuckle wrapped over the top of the Vertec on his second jump, indicating that his result would have been better had he not maxed out the drill as it was set up. Meanwhile, his 136-inch broad jump would rank tied for third of all-time at the position. Wilson's results in the short shuttle and 3-cone results were also well above average.
“It was pretty exciting, to perform these numbers I did today," Wilson exclaimed after his workout. "I wish I could have ran a little bit faster in my 40. But other than that, I was really happy for what I did. The work doesn’t stop here."
Wilson spent his time between opting out and the pro day training at the EXOS training facility in Phoenix, Az., working with coach Nick Hill on speed and Jonathan Barlow on strength. "Probably the best draft prep guys possible," Wilson claimed, those two undoubtedly helped Wilson make teams remember the potential he offers as a football player.
Perhaps, now they also forget - or at least are willing to forgive - the shoe toss.
