'It's his time'
''He's ready,'' co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell said recenty. ''It's his time. He's a penciled-in starter. Maturity, that's probably the biggest thing. He's always had the ability.
''That's what we've seen so far and, hopefully, he'll continue to do it.''
Defensive coordinator Jim Heacock thinks the same and said Wilson took a leap last year, when he played in 12 games and had 17 tackles, five for losses, three sacks and a forced fumble. Jay Richardson and Vernon Gholston were the starters, and Wilson had to contribute what he could as a part of the line's rotation.
''My sophomore to junior year I matured more than my freshman to sophomore year, just off and on the field,'' Wilson said. ''I studied a lot of film. I know what to do and what not to do. I've learned from previous players' mistakes.
Lineup
This season, Wilson is slotted to line up opposite Gholston, an All-America candidate from Detroit.
Gholston (6-foot-4 and 260 pounds) and Wilson (6-5, 275) have the size, speed and strength to batter opposing quarterbacks.
''We've been talking about it all year, how we can make a lot of plays for our defense,'' Wilson said of Gholston. ''We complement each other so well. We're both big and fast.''
Asked if he thought what the Buckeyes could have with Wilson's and Gholston's speed, Fickell said, ''If they were on a track team?''
''It helps,'' Fickell said. ''Sometimes we get caught up in it too much, but speed is the name of the game. But we've got to get in those situations to use their speed, so we've got to stop somebody on first and second down.''
