NFL Draft 2011: LB Martez Wilson, Illinois

The 2011 NFL draft is around the corner and SB Nation’s Hail To The Orange has the full scoop on LB Martez Wilson, a first or second round prospect. Check out Hail To The Orange for more on Illinois football.

Inside or outside linebacker | 6’4” 250 lbs | Junior | Chicago, Illinois

Martez Wilson was a highly regarded recruit for Ron Zook and the University of Illinois in 2007, and saw plenty of playing time at outside linebacker during that Rose Bowl season. Since that season, however, Wilson has had a run of bad luck with injuries, and has also had his effort questioned by coaches and fans alike. During the off season between his sophomore and junior seasons he was stabbed at a night club, and after just the first game of his junior season, Wilson broke a vertebrae in his neck, ending his season.

After his return from these injuries in 2010 however, Wilson became one of the most reliable and hardest hitting players on the Illini defense, leading his team in tackles after moving to middle line backer. Wilson has very good speed, especially when considering his height and frame, but there may be some question of his durability, given his neck injury just last year.

Even though Wilson ended up excelling most in college as an inside linebacker, he is probably best suited on the outside in the pro game, especially as part of a 3-4 scheme. Wilson is great on the blitz and has shown excellent tackling form and is a very hard hitter.

The events surrounding the night that Wilson was stabbed have been at times mysterious, but in an interview given to a local paper, Wilson shed light on how the incident came about. As Wilson and other members of the football team were leaving the infamous and now defunct Champaign bar FUBAR, he saw his friend and former teammate D’Angelo McCray being assaulted by several individuals,being kicked and punched on the ground.

“If it was anyone in that type of danger like he was, I would love to help,” Wilson said. “If I was in that situation, if I was unconscious and I was being jumped, I would want someone to help me as well. He’s a teammate. He’s a brother.”

“We were out tussling,” Wilson said. “I fell and I thought I fell on the gravel and rocks. It was really the stabbing that made me fall. I didn’t know it until I got out of the hospital.”

Wilson has never really had trouble with discipline at Illinois, and fans should not assume that the incident that ended with him being stabbed is indicative of anything other than him being a good person.