How a 34-Year Old Connection Brought Damon Wilson II to Mizzou

Ahead of the 1991 season, two seemingly unrelated things happened for the East Carolina football offense: 1. Damon Wilson Sr., a running back from Jacksonville, Florida, joined the team; and 2. offensive lineman David Blackwell suffered a career-ending neck injury.

These events wound up being the first seed for, 34 years later, the best edge rusher available in the transfer portal to commit to the Missouri Tigers.

The injury led Blackwell into coaching, with him spending the final three years of his college career as a student assistant.

Wilson Sr. carried out the rest of his career as a player, described in the team's 1993 media guide as a short-yardage, hard runner with a 4.65 40-yard dash time.

Through the years as Blackwell had coaching stops at Pittsburgh, Clemson and other programs, he kept in touch with his former teammate. Wilson Sr. trained football players in Florida, putting them on Blackwell's radar to recruit.

"He'd call to recommend a recruit," Blackwell said Sunday to Missouri On SI of his relationship with Wilson Sr. "'Hey, you need to check this guy,' or 'hey, do you mind looking at this guy for me and telling me where you think, what level?'"

When Blackwell was the defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech in 2020, Wilson Sr. was telling him about a prospect far too special for Blackwell to even consider recruiting to the Conference USA: his son, Damon Wilson II.

In high school, Wilson II was already ridiculously athletic and powerful as an edge rusher. Rated as the fifth-best edge rusher in his class by 247Sports, he committed to Georgia, where he'd spend the first two years of his career.

Damon Wilson, Venice High football Fbh Top16017 | DENNIS MAFFEZZOLI / HERALD-TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK

But, Wilson II entered the transfer portal four days after Georgia's 2024 season ended in the College Football Playoff.

As soon as Wilson II became available, Blackwell and Missouri were quick to get in touch with the edge rusher.

"Once he went in the portal it was the full-court press," Blackwell said.

One of the biggest challenges for players looking for a new school through the portal is finding a coaching staff to trust. The same uncertainty is involved as a recruit out of high school, but there's time to go on multiple visits and build relationships over months at a time compared to the matter of days portal recruiting is crammed into.

For Wilson II, having a family friend he already trusted was crucial.

"Just having somebody that his family knew that could speak on what type of person and coach that I am, what type of program that this is, I think, went a long way," edge coach Brian Early said of the role Blackwell played in recruiting Wilson II.

Once in contact with Wilson II, it was time for head coach Eli Drinkwitz and Early to meet both of the Damons on an in-home visit. Going into it, Drinkwitz thought Missouri was already "dead in the water." But the coaching staff "fell in love" with Wilson II and the rest of his family. From there, Missouri was able to convince him to visit campus.

"When you can get somebody on campus and put your best foot forward and develop a relationship, you got an opportunity," Drinkwitz said at SEC Media Days.

The Missouri coaching staff continued to talk to Wilson nearly "every day," according to Early.

Wilson also did some phone calls and scouting of his own, reaching out to his former Georgia teammate, Dominic Lovett. The wide receiver spent the first two years of his career at Missouri. Lovett raved about Missouri's development program.

"He said for him, it was just more personal," Wilson II said in an interview with Missouri On SI. "Like nutrition and weight program, it's personalized for you."

Blackwell said Wilson II and Drinkwitz "hit it off" immediately after meeting. That was aided by a high review from Lovett.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate Dominic Lovett and what he said about the University of Missouri and myself and really," Drinkwitz said. "That meant a lot to me."

The impact Wilson II will have on the field for Missouri is obvious. Despite not starting last year at Georgia, he racked up the second-most pressures on the team at 26, a mark that would've also tied Zion Young for the second-most for Missouri last season.

"Dame's a guy that's able to create pass rush ability," Drinkwitz said. "He's very good against the run, but he's got just a great ability to the passer."

Aug 31, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik (2) is tackled by Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Damon Wilson II (10) in the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

But, Wilson II also has plans to make an impact off the field in his time at Missouri. That started with donations of a combined total of over $10,000 to his high school and Pop Warner teams this past summer.

"It's an honor to be able to have the financial means to be able to give back to my program, because there had to be someone to give back to the program for me to keep doing what I was able to do," Wilson II said, "So just to keep the cycle alive, I feel like it's my duties. It's what I'm required to do."

For all the dramatic changes and uncertainty in college athletics that are a byproduct of the legalization of NIL payments, the ability for players to create good and give back with that money is an unquestionable benefit.

"You love seeing guys do that," Early said of players such as Wilson II using NIL money to give back to their communities. "It just tells you what type of mentality and how grateful they are. This is how college football is where you can make pretty good money."

Wilson II is also in the beta stages of launching a health app, encouraging physical wellness and education.

"It's mostly about helping people just motivate each other and just grow stronger physically and mentally," Wilson II said.

The idea started in the app from seeing how health complications from being overweight complicated his father's everyday life while Wilson II was in high school. Then through discipline, his father lost over 100 pounds.

"He's like, a whole different human now," Wilson II said. "Just seeing him take his weight in his life in his own hands, and it's like, 'hey, let's help, let's try to help other people do the same thing.'"

Wilson II is also trying to help other college athletes make the most of their brands in order to set themselves up for long-term financial stability. Specifically, he's planning to start a company to sell jerseys that give student-athletes a greater share of the profit off their jersey sales.

He realizes a long-term career in football is not a guarantee for anyone, even for an elite player like himself.

"Some people view it like, 'What can I get now? What do I want now?'" Wilson II said. "The amount of money we get in college is pretty substantial. ... You can invest your money properly and be able to take care of yourself long term."

Wilson II said one of the things that attracted him most to Missouri was the recent success of players at his position, specifically he listed the success of Johnny Walker Jr. last year, finishing fourth in the Southeastern Conference with 9.5 sacks.

Whatever impact he makes for Missouri in 2025, the Tigers will at least in part have a relationship formed 14 years before Wilson II was even born.

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