As a redshirt freshman on the Allegheny football team, Jake Wilson suffered a devastating knee injury. Two years later, he set an NCAA Division III record.
In the closing moments of a 2014 game against Wittenberg University, Wilson, a former running back at Cazenovia High School, took a handoff. But, there was a miscommunication between Allegheny’s coach and the offense. Wilson received the ball and began running left as his offensive linemen blocked to the right. Wilson was exposed, and two Wittenberg defenders delivered a big hit. His knee twisted awkwardly and his ACL was torn.
Wilson went through a long and difficult rehab process. But eventually he recovered and as a junior in 2016, he recorded 1,268 kick return yards, breaking the NCAA Division III single season record.
“Every single game, I made sure that, even if I was five steps back in the end zone, I was going to take [the ball] out,” Wilson said about his mindset returning kicks. “I was going to take it out every single time because I was going to show the coaches what I have.”
Wilson was a star while playing for Cazenovia, registering over 2,000 yards and rushing for 26 touchdowns in his high school career.
Jake’s mother, Jackie, said that football brought their family together. She still goes to all of her son’s games and wears a yellow raincoat, so that Jake can find her in the crowd.
“[Football] is a part of our D.N.A. as a family,” Jackie said. “Some people, their dinner every night at the table talking about politics is the tie that binds. Football was really a tie that bound us as a family.”
Following graduation, Wilson spent a redshirt year at D-II LIU Post, where he did not appear in a game. Wilson said that he loved playing football at LIU, but that it was not a good fit for him. He transferred to Allegheny after discussing the school with a family friend.
In his first year at Allegheny, Wilson was second on the team in total rushing and averaged 4.1 yards per carry. But, the ACL injury set him back. After undergoing surgery, he missed the first part of his sophomore season while completing rehab. When he returned, Wilson said that his knee still didn’t feel right.
Following the school year, he returned home and began working out with Pete Haley, a trainer at Edge Strength and Conditioning. Wilson said it was through these workouts that he regained flexibility and confidence in his knee.
“He worked me endlessly and he did not let me stop,” Wilson said about his workouts with Haley. “I trained harder than I ever trained that summer … I needed that guy to really push me past that breaking point and Pete did that for me.”
Haley said that Wilson is a hard worker who pushed himself throughout their training sessions.
“He’s an incredible type of student-athlete,” Haley said. “He expects a lot from himself and he just put in the time and the effort that was required for him to get back to that high level.”
When Wilson returned to Allegheny, he was shifted into a new role, kick-off returner. Despite having little experience at that position, he excelled immediately. Wilson opened 2016 with a career-high 223 return yards against Thiel College and he followed that up with 209 at the College of Wooster. For the season, Wilson returned 54 kicks and eclipsed 100 return yards in six of Allegheny’s 10 games.
“When you get only a small opportunity, and you have a mindset like mine, where I have to be on that field because it’s the only thing that drives me throughout my life, I’m not going to quit,” Wilson said about his success as a kick-returner.
Mark Dewan met Wilson in sixth grade and the two were teammates together at Cazenovia. He said that Wilson’s work ethic is what has led to his success on the football field.
“Jake’s always been a grinder, ever since I’ve met him,” Dewan said. “You can’t really question his work ethic. I think that shows in everything he does, on and off the field, whether we are splitting wood at his dad’s farm, or in class in high school, or on the field, or in the weight room.”
Wilson will conclude his collegiate career next year. He said that football’s been a motivating factor throughout his life.
“Football was always that push,” Wilson said. “If I was playing football, I was going to do well in school. And what’s school going to do for me? It’s going to get me a job one day and hopefully make me a successful man.”