Chris Willson was, surprisingly, among the players working out at Pro Day today, so I caught up with him for about 10 minutes and got a pretty comprehensive update as to his status since we've gotten a lot of questions about him on here.
Turns out, he found out just today that he will be eligible for a sixth year and that the news is hours old - it's not even in writing yet. The question he faces now is three-fold: 1. Does he want to play college ball again versus pursue professional opportunities; 2. If he does return, will he do so at QB or TE?; and 3. At what school?
Because Willson doesn't have an agent, he's still got amateur status, which allowed him to go out and throw today for the teams in attendance but still be eligible to play this fall. He was only able to do so in the DB drills, though, so the look they got was pretty limited. He did it to get an honest evaluation of whether he has the potential to be a quarterback at the next level after he was recruited to play the position for Wake Forest. Now, odds are he's not going pro after this, but a lot is going to hinge on whether he's told he has a chance to be a quarterback or not. He admitted that his heart is still and always be at that position, and his arm is feeling good again. But he also knows that this could come down to a head versus heart choice for him - does he keep pursuing QB, where he loves playing, or does he stick at tight end, where he may have a better chance at a future.
He did say, definitively, that if he decides to play tight end, he will only do so at USC. "There's no better school," he told me, and he knows that the depth chart is favorable. But if he's told he has a shot at quarterback, I bet he probably goes elsewhere so he gets a shot to play. That decision isn't coming any time soon - he wants to hear back from the evaluators, and talk things over with his family. To that end, he confirmed he's not playing spring ball while he figures that out. If he's back at USC, it will be for the fall.
This post was edited on 3/11 2:25 PM by Mike Piellucci
This post was edited on 3/11 2:26 PM by Mike Piellucci
Turns out, he found out just today that he will be eligible for a sixth year and that the news is hours old - it's not even in writing yet. The question he faces now is three-fold: 1. Does he want to play college ball again versus pursue professional opportunities; 2. If he does return, will he do so at QB or TE?; and 3. At what school?
Because Willson doesn't have an agent, he's still got amateur status, which allowed him to go out and throw today for the teams in attendance but still be eligible to play this fall. He was only able to do so in the DB drills, though, so the look they got was pretty limited. He did it to get an honest evaluation of whether he has the potential to be a quarterback at the next level after he was recruited to play the position for Wake Forest. Now, odds are he's not going pro after this, but a lot is going to hinge on whether he's told he has a chance to be a quarterback or not. He admitted that his heart is still and always be at that position, and his arm is feeling good again. But he also knows that this could come down to a head versus heart choice for him - does he keep pursuing QB, where he loves playing, or does he stick at tight end, where he may have a better chance at a future.
He did say, definitively, that if he decides to play tight end, he will only do so at USC. "There's no better school," he told me, and he knows that the depth chart is favorable. But if he's told he has a shot at quarterback, I bet he probably goes elsewhere so he gets a shot to play. That decision isn't coming any time soon - he wants to hear back from the evaluators, and talk things over with his family. To that end, he confirmed he's not playing spring ball while he figures that out. If he's back at USC, it will be for the fall.
This post was edited on 3/11 2:25 PM by Mike Piellucci
This post was edited on 3/11 2:26 PM by Mike Piellucci
