Wilson garnering late-arriving interest

Jovon Wilson never expected this to be easy. He played just four games at Scottsdale Community College last season because of a torn meniscus. His only offer was from Arkansas, but that went up in smoke when the Razorbacks took a different, not-so-injured tight end under the program's previous staff.

The situation is indicative of the road Wilson is headed down. His trip is still ongoing. And without a single committable offer, crunch time has arrived. Lucky for him, though, there are possibilities in play.

Enter the Oklahoma Sooners.

OU has been involved in the recruitment of Wilson for some time. Finally, though, things seem to be getting serious. These days, when the tight end squints, he sees himself in Norman.

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the offer," Wilson said on Wednesday. "I've been talking to Coach [Bruce] Kittle a lot lately. He told me the other day that they would love to have me. He just needs to run it by Coach [Bob] Stoops. They're supposed to tell me if I have an offer by tonight. If I get the offer, I'll visit this weekend."

And so the 6-foot-4 Wilson's fingers remain in their default, crossed position. Coming back from an injury is rarely easy. But it wasn't supposed to be this hard, either. It's why he makes no secret of what will happen should the Sooners decide to pull the trigger.

"I'll commit because that's my favorite school of all the schools that were recruiting me, even before," Wilson said. "I like what they've done with their tight ends in the past. Coach Kittle tells me they want to use me in the run game … definitely in the run game. They want to use me in the slot sometimes because of my athletic ability."

The Sooners aren't alone in dipping their foot into Wilson's recruiting waters. Kansas State has also ramped up contact in recent days. But that situation is too of the wait-and-see variety.

Things with the Wildcats aren't moving quite as quickly as they are with Oklahoma. Still, there's movement. And for Wilson, that's reason enough for optimism

"Kansas State wants me to come in and play," Wilson said. "I talked to Coach [Charlie] Dickey last week. They're going to come out here to see me the weekend before signing day. Coach Dickey said that they really like me. They just want me to get out there on a visit and he needs to wait for Coach Snyder."

Missouri is also lightly involved on Wilson's recruitment, but the Tigers' interest doesn't appear to be quite as strong.

There's little known about Wilson, who will have three years to play at the Division-I level.. The sample size is small and his juco track record is marred by injury. He is, in a way, an enigma of a commodity. Mike Dennis, who coached Wilson during his high school days in Michigan, however, has plenty to say about his former pupil, though.

"He's one of my best, and I've had some good ones" Dennis said. "I don't stand on a chair and tell people about just anyone. He's going to make a great college player.