Russell Wilson jogged over to a crowd of autograph seekers when a voice shouted out.
“Russell, sign my baby. Russell, sign my baby.”
As odd a request as that was, nothing has managed to catch the Seattle Seahawks quarterback off guard this season.
A third-round pick in last year’s draft, Wilson is one of two rookie quarterbacks who will play in the Pro Bowl on Sunday at Aloha Stadium.
Unlike Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck, the No. 1 overall pick and de facto starter for the Colts from Day 1, Wilson was expected to serve as a backup to Matt Flynn, whom the Seahawks signed as a free agent in the offseason.
That wasn’t the case, as Wilson won the starting job in training camp and led the Seahawks to an 11-5 record and a road playoff victory.
He was invited to the Pro Bowl last Sunday as a replacement for Atlanta’s Matt Ryan, who injured his shoulder in the NFC championship game against San Francisco.
“I got called right away after the game,” said Wilson, who joins New York’s Eli Manning and New Orleans’ Drew Brees as the NFC quarterbacks. “I was already packed and ready to go.”
Wilson has defied the odds from the moment the Seahawks took him with the 75th overall pick.
At 5-foot-11, Wilson’s lack of size was a big reason he wasn’t mentioned in the same class as Luck and Washington rookie Robert Griffin III, who also made the Pro Bowl but had to pull out with a knee injury.
Once Wilson got on the field however, he quickly played his way into that group of heralded rookie QBs.
He completed 64 percent of his passes for 3,118 yards and threw 26 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions.
He also ran for 489 yards and four touchdowns and hit his stride in the second half of the season, leading the Seahawks to five consecutive wins to end the year.
Seattle averaged 38.6 points per game in those five wins and is represented by six players in the Pro Bowl.
“It’s a testament to Coach (Pete) Carroll and (general manager) John Schneider for who they brought in and also how we practice and play on game day,” Wilson said.
The decision to start Wilson in the opener was a tough one after the Seahawks gave Flynn a three-year, $19.5 million contract last March.
Center Max Unger, one of two Seahawks starting in Sunday’s game, wasn’t sure Wilson would be the guy he would snap the ball to in the opener.
But he did have an inkling Wilson was a special player from the first time he met him.
“During mini-camps he came in and really commanded the huddle, and it’s just rare for a guy to do that as a rookie,” said Unger, a Hawaii Prep alumnus. “I didn’t know who was going to be the starter and kind of thought Flynn had the advantage, but they named Russell the starter and he’s just taken off from there.”
Part of Wilson’s success comes from the confidence he’s always had in himself.
When asked if he was surprised at making the Pro Bowl, he shook his head.
“It wasn’t too far out there for me,” he said. “Probably for a lot of other people, but you know I’ve always believed in myself.”
In just one season, he has the rest of the NFL believing, too.
