It has not taken Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson that long to become a household name. After helping the Wisconsin Badgers win the Big Ten Conference Championship in 2011, Wilson entered the 2012 National Football League Draft with a ton of uncertainty around him. At 5’11”, 203 lbs. soaking wet, Wilson does not have the prototypical size that makes NFL scouts and general managers alike drool about when they are analyzing quarterbacks which is why he was not selected until the third round of the NFL Draft. Many people (including 300lbsofsportsknowledge) did not expect much from Wilson in the NFL, but I should have seen this coming due to the fact he is a born leader.
Prior to playing at Wisconsin, Wilson spent the first three years of his collegiate career at North Carolina State. At N.C. State, Wilson helped the school make two bowl games which was highlighted by the school finishing the 2010 season ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 2002. A disagreement with former N.C. State head football coach Tom O’Brien over Wilson’s time spent playing minor-league baseball for the Colorado Rockies led the quarterback to transfer to Wisconsin in 2011. Being that Wilson had already graduated from N.C. State in three years, he was immediately eligible to play at Wisconsin in 2011. In less than a month on Wisconsin’s campus, Wilson was elected as captain of the Badgers football team by his teammates.
When Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll drafted Wilson he expected him to compete with former Seahawks quarterback Matt Flynn for the starting job. Flynn had just agreed to a three-year, $20 million deal with the Seahawks in 2012, but Wilson beat him out for the starting job in training camp and Seattle has not looked back since then.
In his two seasons as the Seahawks starting quarterback, Wilson has a record of 24-8. Wilson’s playoff record is 3-1 and he has the Seahawks in the Super Bowl this season for the second time in franchise history. Wilson is also only the third quarterback in NFL history to help his team reach the Super Bowl in just his second season in the league as he joins former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and current Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in this elite company.
For his entire athletic career Wilson has beaten the odds as people have always told him that he couldn’t achieve greatness due to his size. The odds will once again be against Wilson next Sunday when he leads the Seahawks into Super Bowl 48 to take on the Denver Broncos who are led by their quarterback Peyton Manning as the Broncos are favored to win by two points.
As far as the two quarterbacks in Super Bowl 48 go, Manning is the Apollo Creed of the matchup as he is the five-time NFL MVP along with being a sure fire first ballot selection in the Pro Football Hall of Fame when his playing career is over. Wilson on the other hand is the Rocky Balboa as he is the scrappy quarterback that will do whatever it takes in order to lead his team to a victory. Of course Wilson will need to worry more about the Broncos defense that has only surrendered 33 points this postseason instead of Manning. But unfortunately quarterbacks are solely judged on how they fare against one another.
Manning comes from NFL royalty. Along with his father Archie Manning and his brother Eli Manning who is the starting quarterback of the New York Giants , the Mannings were all first round picks in the NFL Draft. As a teenager Wilson attended the Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana where he was able to learn pointers from the Manning family. Now he gets an opportunity in a classic student versus teacher contest next Sunday.
In two seasons with the Seahawks, Wilson has passed for 6,475 yards and 52 touchdowns while Manning passed for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdown this season alone. The makeup of the Seahawks and the Broncos are different, but both teams still rely on their signal callers. Where Manning will defeat opponents with his knowledge of the game, Wilson will set things up with his brain and his athletic ability. This season Wilson only had one game in which he passed for more than 300 yards, but the Seahawks tied the Broncos for the best record in the NFL at 13-3. The Broncos defense has only allowed 129 rushing yards this postseason and they will look to force the Seahawks offense to solely rely on Wilson while attempting take away their powerful running attack led by running back Marshawn Lynch who has totaled 249 yards on the ground this postseason.
Wilson has displayed that he has ice water running through his veins as he doesn’t get rattled easy so he’ll be ready for whatever the Broncos defense led by their defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio will throw at him. In last Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, the Seahawks found themselves in a 10-0 deficit to the San Francisco 49ers. Wilson fumbled on the Seahawks first offensive play of the game which led to a 49ers field goal but he never wavered. Where other quarterbacks may have become tentative, Wilson remained cool as the Seahawks would go on to defeat San Francisco 23-17.
If Wilson has to throw for 350 yards or rush for 125 yards while handing off to Lynch 30 times he will gladly do it in order for the Seahawks to become Super Bowl Champions. If the Seahawks win the Super Bowl it will be because of Wilson’s poise and if they lose it won’t be because he was nervous.
Source: Pro-football-reference.com
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