Sunday, July 31, 2005

Garnell Wilds 2005

UPDATE: Garnell is now with the Carolina Panthers!
Not only are the BUCS back in camp, all the other NFL teams are too.
We will be following the BUCS closely this year, as we do every year. This blog started pretty much at the end of the 2004 NFL regular season, so we have not commented much about the BUCS, except for the "my life as a BUCS fan" series (only one installment so far). Full disclosure: Both Tommy and I are BUCS season ticket holders. Also, I am a personal friend of Mike Alstott.
Other than the BUCS, we will follow a few other NFL players, including players who affect the fortunes of our fantasy football league.
However, the individual player we will be following most closely is Washington Redskins cornerback GARNELL WILDS.
Garnell is a second year player from Virginia Tech. He's 5' 11" and 196 pounds. He's got AWESOME dreadlocks.
Garnell is from Tampa! He played high school football for our great friend Earl Garcia at Hillsborough High! What more reasons could we possibly have to pull for this awesome guy?
Well, how about this: His dad, George Wilds, owns the Blue Shark in Ybor City.
Garnell had an outstanding college career. He led the Big East in interceptions in his junior year. Last year, his first as a pro, Garnell spent the first part of the year on the practice squad. But when he got to play in the last few games, he performed very well, particularly for an undrafted rookie. Against the Vikings, he covered the NFL's best reciever, Randy Moss, in single coverage, and he graded very highly (5 tackles). He is obviously very coachable and likable, which is important in football, very much a team sport.
Life in the NFL is very tough. The work, both physical and mental, is much harder than most people can realize. So let's get behind this great young man. Visit the Blue Shark soon, and let George know that you're a Garnell Wilds fan.