Patience paid off for a football player nicknamed “Money.”
Cornerback Zach Wilson signed a scholarship agreement to play for the University of Hawaii football team.
Wilson arrives in Honolulu on Saturday and will begin attending classes on Monday, the first day of UH’s spring semester. He will participate in the Warriors’ offseason conditioning program and spring practice.
“I really like Coach (Nick) Rolovich’s plans,” Wilson said. “He plans to take on the big schools. Sometimes people think Hawaii is a little man when it’s really not.”
Wilson said he is 6 feet, 180 pounds and capable of running 40 yards in sub-4.5 seconds. He has completed the 100-meter dash in 10.88 seconds.
Wilson is a 2015 graduate of Upland (Calif.) High. Because he struggled academically early in his senior season, interested teams — UCLA, Boise State and Washington State — decided not to offer a football scholarship. Wilson eventually met the NCAA eligibility requirements, but FBS suitors had filled their recruiting classes.
Wilson resisted playing for a junior college in 2015, deciding to delay a decision in the hope he would attract Division I offers. That wish became a reality when the Warriors extended an offer.
“I don’t like to follow what everybody else does,” Wilson said. “I like to try something different.”
He said if he were faced with two choices — a guarantee or the unknown — he would pick the latter. “I’d want to see what happens,” he said.
By taking only seven credits at Mount San Antonio Community College the past fall semester, he was designated a part-time student, meaning his five-year eligibility clock did not start. Wilson now will have five years to play four UH seasons.
Wilson won awards at football camps on the Nebraska, Arizona State, UCLA, Washington State and Boise State campuses.
In the summer prior to his senior season, he was told he would move from wideout to cornerback. Wilson trained under Rashaun Scott, a former Boise State defensive back. Wilson did not allow a scoring pass during the regular season.
