WILLIAMSBURG — As the William & Mary Tribe gets ready for the 2024 football season, WYDaily caught up with some of the team’s players ahead of Thursday night’s kickoff.
Darius Wilson returns as starting quarterback after a successful junior year. Wilson, a native the Bronx, New York, will look to lead the Tribe offense to another winning season.
“Last season, we were coming off a really good year, we won the conference, we made the playoffs, we went 11-2. We had a lot of high expectations coming into 2023. We ended up going 6-5 due to things like injuries, and while that stuff happens, it was kind of a disappointing season in terms of what we expected,” Wilson said.
At William & Mary, Wilson has started in every game of his sophomore and junior seasons. Ing his freshman year, he was named CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year. He’s also earned multiple CAA Offensive Player of the Week honors, a spot on the CAA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll and was a member of the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) All-State second team in 2022. In 2023, Wilson was named as an honorable mention to the Preseason All-CAA team.
Wilson knows that 2024 may be the last time he steps on the gridiron.
“This is potentially my last time playing football ever. I really just want to go out there, have a fun time with my friends, and just make some really good memories,” Wilson shared.
Wilson is studying economics, however, if the opportunity to play in the NFL came, Wilson would answer with delight.
“This game is something I’ve been playing since I was seven years old. It would be really hard to stop doing it forever. It would be very hard to walk away. It would great to play professionally, get picked by a team, and play 20 years. There is no team I’d love to play for, just anyone who would take me on and give me a shot,” Wilson said.
As a team leader in his senior season, Wilson aims to step up and inspire those who come after him.
“We’ve really rallied behind ‘so what, now what?’ as a motto. It really means that no matter what adversity you go through, what are you going to do next? You can’t really dwell on that moment and get stuck. You have to see what’s next. Off the field, that motto means show up to class, show up for the community. We don’t just come to college to play football, you need to excel in the classroom and in your career,” Wilson said.
Wilson played football as a youngster, coached by his father. He then played all four years as a member of Iona Prep’s team. Through the years, he said he’s learned many lessons.
“I really think football teaches you perseverance and acceptance. Perseverance in the sense of having a tough schedule between athletic, academics, and a social life. You need all those things to have a balanced life, you can’t just do football and academics. You need to speak to people and have fun with your friends or you are just going to get really depressed and sad,” he said.
“The acceptance part comes in with understanding that nothing goes how you want it to go, everyone comes in with the dream of going into the NFL, that’s not for everybody,” he added. “You have to accept what your role is and know that you are going to miss out on some things but if this is truly what you love to do, it will be worth the sacrifice.”
As the Tribe kicks off its 2024 season on Thursday night against Virginia Military Institute, Wilson offered his thoughts on the season ahead.
“To win another championship would be great. Since I’ve been starting for so long, I’m kind of high in some of the records, so moving up in those would be a cool thing, to kind of cement myself and my name in William & Mary football history would be great,” he said.
For more information on all things William & Mary football, visit tribeathletics.com.
