Gatorade names GW’s Wilson its state player of the year

When David Wilson was called out of his fourth-period class at George Washington High on Friday, he had a feeling that he was about to get some really good news.

Wilson’s hunch proved correct. Waiting in the hallway was GW athletics director Reid Taylor, who told Wilson he had just been selected as the 2008-09 Gatorade Virginia Football Player of the Year.

The 5-foot-11, 192-pound senior running back is the first GW player ever to receive the award. GW football coach Dan Newell said that with the award, Wilson is eligible for national Player of the Year recognition.

“It’s an amazing honor,” Wilson said, “to be categorized with all the great players who have gotten that award.”

Wilson practically rewrote the school record book in 2008, finishing with 2,301 yards on 196 carries and scoring 35 touchdowns, including 14 on runs of 50 yards or longer. He twice shattered GW’s single-game rushing mark, finishing with 333 yards against Matoaca and 351 against Franklin County. Following his performance against Franklin County, Wilson was named the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Player of the Week.

After losing their first two games, the Eagles came back to finish 7-5 and reach the Northwest Region Division 5 championship game.

“I think it says something about David’s approach to the game,” Newell said. “I think every player leaves high school thinking, ‘I could’ve done better.’ But to accomplish what he has, that says something about his leadership abilities as well. He represented his family, his team and his school very well throughout the process.”

Wilson has verbally committed to Virginia Tech and is expected to sign his National Letter of Intent with the Hokies in early February. 

Meanwhile, Wilson has also been selected to participate in Friday’s Hawaii/Polynesia-Mainland Bowl in Honolulu, part of the Hawaii All-Star Football Classic. The inaugural event, featuring top high school seniors from Hawaii and the mainland United States, will be played in Aloha Stadium, the site of the National Football League’s annual AFC-NFC Pro Bowl.

The trip will be the longest that Wilson has ever made, easily eclipsing his visit to Walt Disney World in Orlando when he was in fifth grade.

He will be joined in Honolulu by his brother, Ronald, who is in the military and currently stationed in San Diego. They will remain in Hawaii through Sunday, Dec. 14, before coming back to Danville.

Wilson said he hopes to perform well in the all-star game in order to show Virginia Tech’s coaching staff that they made a good choice.

“Coming into college,” Wilson said, “high school is over and you’re just another little freshman. This is my chance to post some good numbers against that level of competition. … It’s really wild, every time I set goals and I actually reach them.”

According to Newell, Wilson has also been nominated for another national honor, the Old Spice Red Zone award.

“Sometimes you get kids like this and they don’t get the recognition they deserve,” Newell said. “For David to get these types of accolades on a 7-5 football team in a small market, that speaks volumes.”