NORMAN, Okla. — As the rest of his Oklahoma teammates get ready for a run at a fourth straight Big 12 title, receiver Corey Wilson finds himself facing a different challenge.
NORMAN, Okla. — As the rest of his Oklahoma teammates get ready for a run at a fourth straight Big 12 title, receiver Corey Wilson finds himself facing a different challenge. Months after a car accident left him partially paralyzed, Wilson has set a goal to walk again by the end of the Sooners’ season. Sitting in a wheelchair Friday at Oklahoma’s media day, Wilson told reporters he wants to lead the Sooners onto the field before one of their games, perhaps providing the team some inspiration. "By the end of the season, definitely I’ll walk out of that tunnel," Wilson proclaimed. Wilson had just finished his redshirt freshman year at Oklahoma when he injured his back in a car accident on Interstate 35 on Feb. 27. He still remembers the moments immediately before his sport utility vehicle crashed into a pickup truck, then flipping over and hitting his head. He woke up laying in the grass alongside the road. And then reality set in. "Every day you wake up and you see the chair right there, you think, ‘This can’t be real,’" Wilson said. "You sit there sleeping and you’re like, ‘Maybe I’ll wake up this time and it’ll all be back to normal.’" Wilson said he’s willing to do whatever it takes to walk again. In the past couple months, he has been doing hour-long rehab sessions four days a week. "We work out four days a week up here, so that was nothing new to me," said Wilson, the younger brother of former Oklahoma receiver Travis Wilson. Wilson said he has a Superman "S” tattoo on his chest that serves as a reminder each day that he needs to do everything he can to make his dream a reality. Head coach Bob Stoops and receivers coach Jay Norvell have also made frequent visits to eat breakfast with Wilson, and he still feels like a part of the team. He even still has his normal spot alongside Ryan Broyles reserved for him during the Sooners’ stretching sessions before practice. As he chatted with reporters on Owen Field, linebacker Travis Lewis walked over to give him a hug. "Every day I feel different feelings. I try to move my legs and I can see little muscles firing up, so every day is something different," Wilson said. "When people ask me when I want to walk, I’m going to say, ‘Tomorrow,’ because every day I wake up I feel like God’s going to give me a chance to walk." However, Wilson said he doesn’t expect to play football again. "When I was in the hospital bed and I knew I was going to walk, that was something I thought about," he said. "But with the way these people are working, they’re going to keep bringing in recruits, there’s going to be somebody out there that’s going to be better off for the team than I would be. Playing, I don’t feel like I’ll do that. But being out here around the team and just helping the team out, I definitely want to do." While every day presents challenges, Wilson said he tries to keep a positive attitude. "I don’t see myself as, I guess, disabled. I just see myself as getting around how I have to get around and doing what I have to do to get back on my feet," Wilson said. "If you want to say I’m naive, but I don’t see myself as maybe some other people would see me." ______ In photo: Oklahoma receiver Corey Wilson talks with reporters, at Oklahoma media day in Norman, Okla., Friday, Aug. 7, 2009. Months after a car accident left him partially paralyzed, Wilson has set a goal to walk again by the end of the Sooners’ season. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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