Monday, May 15, 2006

Where are they now - Gerris Wilkinson

Sad but well done article on Gerris Wilkinson on his first Mother's Day since the passing of his mom.

"We never really knew how serious it was," said Wilkinson, who spent his final season working on a second degree, in International Affairs. "She came to my first game in mid-September, and then she went back to California. And that's when she really started to go down."


The sad phone call came as a surprise, but Wilkinson played, anyway. He made six tackles and helped hold the Hurricanes to 30 yards rushing, 237 total yards, and a 1-for-14 third-down conversion rate.


The game, he said, was actually the easiest part of the week. He blocked everything out and just played football.


"People always say that's what she would have wanted me to do. And my family gave me their blessing to do it," Wilkinson said.


"It wasn't hard. It was kind of an inspiration. And it just let me go out there and get my mind off it, too."


That performance became a big reason the Giants drafted him in the third round.



Giants' rookie has a heavy heart