The "free agency" of former N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson took another interesting twist last week when the he took his off-day from the Asheville Tourists to visit with the coaching staff at Auburn. Wilson is currently playing second base for the single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, and since being released from his scholarship at N.C. State has been exploring the possible options for playing one more season of football in 2011.First, the Colorado Rockies believe that Wilson will finish his first full season with the Tourists, which concludes after the kickoff of the football season. At the same time, reports from people close to Wilson believe that he will be playing football this fall for a BCS-conference school. There is also the question of if a team would want Wilson. Last season we saw how a one-year transfer could pay off (Cam Newton) as well as burn out (Jeremiah Masoli).
ESPN's Joe Schad reported that Wilson's visit was like a "job interview" with Auburn. Wilson supposedly wants the treatment of big-time football, and he must sell himself as a candidate to a big-time program. While speaking to the media on Tuesday at the SEC Meetings in Destin, head coach Gene Chizik suggested that he was not opposed to adding a talented player to the roster in 2011.
"When it comes to the recruiting part of it, my job as the head coach at Auburn is to make sure we're going to develop our roster the best way we see fit to help Auburn win," Chizik said when asked specifically about adding a transfer quarterback. "So as we go down the recruiting road, whoever gives us that opportunity to win at Auburn -- whether it's a junior college transfer or high school (player) or whoever we feel fits the bill to continuously improve Auburn's football team to give us a chance to compete for a championship -- then obviously that's my job and I"m for it."
NCAA rules prohibit Chizik from mentioning Wilson by name, since he has not signed with a school. There is no denying that a dual-threat playmaker with a big arm can work in Gus Malzahn's system, I think we all know what happened last year. But Auburn does have two returning quarterbacks, Barrett Trotter and Clint Mosely, who are still engaged in ongoing competition for the starting job. Some have suggested that an experienced quarterback like Wilson could come in and pick up Auburn's offense fast enough to be ready to lead the team in the fall. If you are the defending national champions, and still don't have a starting quarterback in May: that might not be a bad option.
