David Wilson has laid claim to many honors in his high school career, and the future Hokie running back's buzz is starting to grow, before he even dons the maroon helmet.
Earlier this year, Wilson was selected to play for the USA Football's Junior National Team, America's first national team in football composed of high school-aged players. The team was slated to play in the International Federation of American Football Junior World Championships in Canton, Ohio, June 27-July 5.
The tournament consists of eight nations across four continents. Canada, Germany, Sweden, France, Japan, New Zealand, and Mexico along with the US make up the field.
Along with Wilson, future Virginia Tech player Tariq Edwards was selected to play as well.
In the week leading up to the championships, Wilson was selected to be one of four team captains by the fellow players. The three other captains are attending Ohio State, Baylor, and Northern Illinois.
Wilson, a Danville native, has been clocked in the forty-yard dash at 4.4 seconds. He is ranked the fourth-best running back in the country in the class of 2009 according to rivals.com. His brother Ronald is currently serving the Navy aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, and David has said he would have enlisted himself if it were not for football.
After the first game of the tournament, it is clear football is the right choice for now. Representing his country by playing the sport he loves, Wilson led the US to a 78-0 win over France in the first round of the tournament.
Wilson was named MVP of the game with 181 yards rushing on just 12 carries and four touchdowns. France managed just seve
n yards of total offense on the game. Wilson averaged more yards per carry than France's offense gained the entire game.
Edwards, an incoming linebacker to Tech, had six tackles and a sack. Edwards is a three-star prospect on rivals, and the 50th-ranked linebacker in the nation. At 6'3'', 223 pounds and a 4.6 forty time, Edwards is seemingly the perfect fit for Bud Foster's fast, aggressive style defense.
Other scores from the first session on June 27 include Canada's 55-0 drubbing of New Zealand, Japan edging Germany 10-7, and Mexico topping Sweden 41-0. The tournament continues through Sunday July 5, where the gold medal game will be played at 1:00 p.m.
The United States' second game is against Mexico at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1. It was not concluded at press time. For more information on the entire tournament, visit www.usafootball.com/jwc.