Our next stop was to meet Coach Wilson one-on-one in his corner office on the second floor of the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility. I recognized the reason for the location of his office. You were forced to walk past the crystal walls showing all of Alabama’s national championships to get there. When we stepped into the room, he was seated behind a massive cherry desk. He smiled as he rose to greet us and pressed a button that shut the doors once we’d entered. I gave him a ten on style points for the door.
He guided my family and me to an overstuffed couch. Brook had been told that he wanted to meet with just me and my parents. I looked around the room, taking in the wood panels, and noticed the shades were closed to soften the light. Sitting on the coffee table between us were three national championship rings. The light bounced off the diamonds, and all three of us were drawn to what they represented. If you came to Alabama, you would play in National Championship games. Coach Wilson took an overstuffed chair across from us.
Each coach we had met had approached this meeting differently. We’d been in conference rooms and coaches’ offices where the coach had either sat behind a desk or come around to talk to us. This was by far the most impactful approach. I got the impression that nothing had been left to chance, and I had to admit it was working.
Everyone thinks of Coach Wilson as a robot. On the sideline, he’s focused on the game, and in public settings, he seems distant. Ms. Ruby had explained that he was probably thinking about football and was oblivious to what was going on around him. What we found today was a man who was focused on us. He was sitting on the edge of his seat and had a warm smile.
“I’m glad I finally get to talk to you with your parents. I want you to know that we would love you to join us at the University of Alabama and become a part of something special. We will win championships here. You see these rings?” he asked as he pointed to them. “We will get more of these.”
“I suspect you will,” I said.
He leaned further forward and spoke with increased animation, like my dad did when he got into an in-depth discussion about the nuances of golf.
“And we’ll help prepare you for the next level. We’ve had more NFL draft picks in the last five years than anyone. Anyone.”
He had me starting to lean forward. This was what every recruit wanted to hear.
“Recruiting is the lifeblood of our program. After we won in 2012, I told a friend I was upset because I’d missed a week of recruiting while playing in the championship game. I was confused as to why he made fun of me. Ms. Ruby explained that it was because we’d won that game. I, on the other hand, was focused on the process. Part of that process is recruiting the absolute best players we can find. They don’t care that I have to take time off to win championships,” he said, giving a glimpse into his psyche.
I started to understand what Bo had told me. Coach Wilson had a way of doing things that worked. He had a plan which he called ‘the process,’ and he followed that process, and pushed it hard. That would explain why Coach Wilson ran his offense a certain way. I was sure he did the same with his defense.
“The best come to Alabama to become better. We have a process. We focus on what we’re doing right now, not what it will result in. We believe that if we work hard and are focused on the task at hand, the results will take care of themselves. I know that you work harder than anyone we’ve seen at the high school level. Here, you’ll work even harder. With your hard work, you’ll earn your way onto the field. I believe in the process to such an extent that I know that if you decided to go elsewhere, we will win without you. But I’d rather we did it together,” Coach Wilson said.
I glanced over at Mom and saw her grinning. He’d just done the classic take-away with the ‘we can win without you’ spiel. It was a tried-and-true sales technique that made people want it even more. I admit it worked on me, in this case. He was also selling the idea of joining something bigger than yourself, another hot button for me.
“You say you know I work harder than anyone else.”
He gave me a wan smile, like he’d revealed something he shouldn’t have. I could see him consider his answer, and then our eyes locked.
“We create a detailed report on every recruit before we decide to pursue them. For each position, we’ve created what we believe is the ideal model. It first covers the physical attributes necessary to play the position; in your case, quarterback. For example, the recruit must be a certain height to see over the offensive line. No detail is too small. Physically, you are the prototypical quarterback, according to our analysis.
