Illinois' Wilson has new focus after stabbing incident nine months ago

Posted August 09, 2009 11:00 pm

By Lindsey Willhite

CHAMPAIGN - Martez Wilson sat in Carle Foundation Hospital's emergency room in early December, concerned friends by his side and a concealing towel over his midsection to hide the intestines oozing out of his sliced skin.

As he waited to receive treatment after being stabbed twice in a fight outside a sketchy campus bar, Illinois' junior middle linebacker couldn't help but think his guts looked just like chitlins.

"I was shocked," Wilson said Sunday during Illinois media day at Memorial Stadium. "It wasn't an external pain. It was more like someone was squeezing some type of organs inside of me or something."

Wilson, who spent five nights in the hospital, took one slice of the unknown assailant's knife to his right side and the other to his back (perilously close to a lung) while coming to the aid of former Illini teammate D'Angelo McCray after closing time at Fubar.

Nine months removed from the incident Sunday, Wilson lifted up his No. 2 jersey to reveal the surgical scar that runs about 6 inches north and south of his navel.

But if all he learned from the incident was that he's a fast healer - Wilson became healthy quickly enough to work throughout spring practice and make a ballyhooed move to the middle - then it would have been no lesson at all.

But as so often happens when you see your intestines dangling before your eyes, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound specimen from Chicago Simeon has changed.

"I see a totally different guy," said junior receiver Rejus Benn, Illinois' other five-star recruit from the Class of 2007. "He's not the old Martez: Playing slow and stuff. Getting in trouble. It's the Martez Wilson everyone thought and wanted him to be when he first got here.

"He's taking everything seriously. Everything."

Benn, a fitness fanatic who never thinks he can be outworked, told Illinois strength and conditioning coach Lou Hernandez that he believed Wilson and outside linebacker Ian Thomas deserved to be recognized as the Illini who accomplished the most during the team's grueling summer workouts.

Benn told his teammates the same thing Wednesday when he and senior quarterback Juice Williams called a team meeting on the eve of Illinois' first practice.

"I spoke about how he and Ian Thomas have made a drastic change in terms of being a leader and working out," Benn said. "Martez has a different mind-set as far as what he wants to do and how he wants to get it done."

Illinois coach Ron Zook doesn't want to put pressure on Wilson, but he couldn't help noting Sunday that the Big Ten's tackles leader each of the last three years has been the guy who played the middle for the Illini.

While Zook's memory wasn't quite correct - J Leman won the tackles title in 2006 and Brit Miller took it in 2008, but Penn State's Dan Connor led the way in 2007 - what's important is that Zook trusts Wilson to do his defense's most important job.

"I think this is Martez's year," Zook said. "He's very, very confident, and I think he understands he's in position where he can be the guy. He had an unbelievably great summer. You can tell it out there in practice."

Wilson started at weak-side linebacker for the first x games last year before losing his job. He didn't even travel to Northwestern for the season finale for an unspecified team violation.

"I've got a lot of shoes to fill with J Leman and Brit Miller being the middle linebackers for the previous years," Wilson said. "At the same time, I've got my own shoes to fill because I didn't have as good a season as I could have.

"So this season I feel like I've got to show everyone my ability and how I can really play on the field."

CHAMPAIGN - Martez Wilson sat in Carle Foundation Hospital's emergency room in early December, concerned friends by his side and a concealing towel over his midsection to hide the intestines oozing out of his sliced skin. As he waited to receive treatment after being stabbed twice in a fight outside a sketchy campus bar, Illinois' junior middle linebacker couldn't help but think his guts looked just like chitlins. "I was shocked," Wilson said Sunday during Illinois media day at Memorial Stadium. "It wasn't an external pain. It was more like someone was squeezing some type of organs inside of me or something." Wilson, who spent five nights in the hospital, took one slice of the unknown assailant's knife to his right side and the other to his back (perilously close to a lung) while coming to the aid of former Illini teammate D'Angelo McCray after closing time at Fubar. Nine months removed from the incident Sunday, Wilson lifted up his No. 2 jersey to reveal the surgical scar that runs about 6 inches north and south of his navel. But if all he learned from the incident was that he's a fast healer - Wilson became healthy quickly enough to work throughout spring practice and make a ballyhooed move to the middle - then it would have been no lesson at all. But as so often happens when you see your intestines dangling before your eyes, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound specimen from Chicago Simeon has changed. "I see a totally different guy," said junior receiver Rejus Benn, Illinois' other five-star recruit from the Class of 2007. "He's not the old Martez: Playing slow and stuff. Getting in trouble. It's the Martez Wilson everyone thought and wanted him to be when he first got here. "He's taking everything seriously. Everything." Benn, a fitness fanatic who never thinks he can be outworked, told Illinois strength and conditioning coach Lou Hernandez that he believed Wilson and outside linebacker Ian Thomas deserved to be recognized as the Illini who accomplished the most during the team's grueling summer workouts. Benn told his teammates the same thing Wednesday when he and senior quarterback Juice Williams called a team meeting on the eve of Illinois' first practice. "I spoke about how he and Ian Thomas have made a drastic change in terms of being a leader and working out," Benn said. "Martez has a different mind-set as far as what he wants to do and how he wants to get it done." Illinois coach Ron Zook doesn't want to put pressure on Wilson, but he couldn't help noting Sunday that the Big Ten's tackles leader each of the last three years has been the guy who played the middle for the Illini. While Zook's memory wasn't quite correct - J Leman won the tackles title in 2006 and Brit Miller took it in 2008, but Penn State's Dan Connor led the way in 2007 - what's important is that Zook trusts Wilson to do his defense's most important job. "I think this is Martez's year," Zook said. "He's very, very confident, and I think he understands he's in position where he can be the guy. He had an unbelievably great summer. You can tell it out there in practice." Wilson started at weak-side linebacker for the first seven games last year before losing his job. He didn't even travel to Northwestern for the season finale for an unspecified team violation. "I've got a lot of shoes to fill with J Leman and Brit Miller being the middle linebackers for the previous years," Wilson said. "At the same time, I've got my own shoes to fill because I didn't have as good a season as I could have. "So this season I feel like I've got to show everyone my ability and how I can really play on the field."

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