Quarterback Darius Wilson’s emergence as a passing threat fuels William & Mary’s rise to CAA contender, FCS top 10
When coaches at William & Mary told Darius Wilson he’d have a chance to start for the Tribe if he committed out of Iona Prep in New York, he liked what he heard. He also took it with a grain of salt.
“I feel like that’s just something they say to you [during recruiting],” he said. “So, I came in with the mentality that I was going to do my absolute best to work every day to get better.
“I was surprised to win the job and glad to have the year I had.”
Wilson was good enough for the Tribe in 2021 — passing for 1,205 yards and six touchdowns, while rushing for 386 yards and four touchdowns — to earn Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. His rise to stardom has accelerated markedly this season as he has led the No. 8 Tribe (9-1, 6-1 CAA) to the brink of its best regular-season record and first playoff appearance in seven years.
Wilson, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound sophomore, has become a dangerous complement to a rushing attack ranked third nationally at 277 yards per game as the Tribe travels to No. 11 Richmond (8-2, 6-1) to play for at least a share of the CAA title.
He ranks fourth nationally in yards per pass attempt (9.36), is 11th in pass efficiency, 19th in completion percentage (.658) and 12th in yards per completion (14.2). The latter number is a jump of almost three yards from his freshman season, when he stuck more to safer pass plays while adding a dual threat as a runner.
“I felt to succeed, we needed to be more balanced on offense than last year,” he said. “We were missing more deep-throw plays and needed to become more dynamic.”
First he had to beat out Hollis Mathis, twice the national Offensive Rookie of the Week as a true freshman in 2019, but oft-injured since.
“All spring and the first part of training camp, they were splitting the reps,” Tribe offensive coordinator Christian Taylor said. “They had a really good battle and made each other better.
“We felt that Darius gave us the best chance at quarterback, but, obviously, we wanted to utilize Hollis’ skill set [as a quarterback, runner and receiver] in a lot of different ways.”
Taylor said Wilson has been “awesome, lights-out” in every phase of running the offense. He added that the sophomore has matured so much that he’ll give him two play calls each huddle to pick from, based on the opposing defense’s look.
“It’s a credit to his development as a football player and a quarterback,” Taylor said.
And a testament to the hard work Wilson committed to when he committed to the Tribe. A native of a borough, the Bronx, best-known for producing basketball stars, Wilson said he chose football “for the simple reason I was terrible at basketball.”
In addition to honing his considerable athletic skills while at William & Mary, he worked hard to quickly develop an encyclopedic knowledge of the playbook — enabling him to react quickly in motion rather than overthinking. The chemistry he has developed with the receiver corps allows him to throw to any one of at least five.
“Lachlan Pitts is just a big target who can catch the ball anywhere and get you yards after the catch,” he said of the tight end who ranks ninth nationally at 20 yards per catch. “Tyler Rose is our jump-ball guy who will go up and get it.
“Caylin Newton is going to get open or get any 50/50 ball, and DreSean Kendick is our flashy guy who’s going to make people miss. We’ve also got JT Mayo, who we look for on third downs because he makes big plays when we need him to.
“It helps to have a variety of options.”
All the stars aligned for Wilson in a 45-12 win last weekend over preseason CAA favorite Villanova. Wilson completed 12 of 15 passes for 211 yards — including touchdowns of 11 yards to Pitts, 87 yards to Rose and 19 yards to Kendrick — and had a 55-yard touchdown among his 95 yards rushing.
The effort earned him CAA Offensive Player of the Week honors. He admitted that it and the top rookie designation meant a lot.
“At the end of the day, winning means more, but the personal awards feel good,” he said. “I was ecstatic (to be named CAA Rookie of the Year) because it proved all the work I put in was worth it, and it justified my decision to come here.”
No. 8 William & Mary at No. 11 Richmond, noon
On the air: TV, NBC Sports Washington; Stream, FloFootball.com; Radio, 92.3FM The Tide.
The Tribe (9-1, 6-1 CAA): W&M earns a lot of prizes with a victory. It ties the fourth-longest series in Division I history at 64-64-5, earns at least a tie for the Colonial Athletic Association title and surely earns a bye for the first round of the FCS playoffs next week, then a home game for the quarterfinals the week after. A victory would also give the Tribe its best regular-season finish in the history of a program that began in 1893, as well as an unprecedented 6-0 mark on the road. Should the Tribe approach its average of 323.3 yards rushing the past four games, it should win.
The Spiders (8-2, 6-1 CAA): Victory will not come easily for the Tribe in the Capital Cup. The Spiders are third in the CAA in points per game (30.9) and second in points allowed (18.6). Spiders’ quarterback Reece Udinski leads the top passing attack in the CAA (291.3 yards per game) and has thrown for more than 300 yards in six games this season. The defensive front displayed its prowess in a 21-13 win at then-No. 15 Delaware last week with a season-high 11 tackles for loss - three by Marlem Louis, who also had two sacks, two quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles.
