As the first two games of the Utah football season unfolded, I admit I had to pinch myself a few times. Travis Wilson was directing the Utes as a quarterback should, not making any mistakes and leading touchdown drives. Most importantly, he helped Utah snag two victories.
Wilson didn’t play out of this world against Utah State and Weber State, which is why I took his performances for granted in large part. He was simply doing his job as he threw for a combined 566 yards and five touchdowns against the Aggies and Wildcats. A bonus were his team-high 120 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground. These were good numbers, but not anything Heisman-like.
The reason I had to pinch myself? Wilson is still a sophomore who, after Saturday, has now made just 10 career starts. With that in mind, my perception of him in the first two contests of 2013 changed. I realized that the San Clemente, Calif. native showed a very solid command of Dennis Erickson’s offense and most importantly, he displayed a great amount of poise for a player who is still relatively young in the college game.
Saturday’s contest Pac-12 opener against Oregon State magnified the importance of Wilson tenfold. With his offensive line struggling, he threw for just nine total yards in the first quarter. In the third frame, he made his biggest mistake of the season, throwing an interception that was returned 27 yards for a touchdown. He unwisely tossed two more footballs to Oregon State players over the course of the second half.
Though Wilson did produce multiple sophomoric miscues, he also confirmed that his maturity level is very advanced. On the Utes’ drive following the pick-six, Wilson scampered 35 yards for a touchdown to cut the Beavers’ lead to 27-17. With his team trailing 37-31 late in the fourth quarter, he engineered an 85-yard drive to give Utah its first lead of the game. Of the 85 yards in the drive, 55 came from Wilson’s feet. With his team again trailing, this time 45-38, he ran nine yards for a touchdown to knot things up with just 21 ticks remaining.
That resiliency was a major departure from Wilson’s performance a year ago against Oregon State. In that contest, Utah also finished with three turnovers, but Wilson didn’t respond positively to those mistakes as he did this year.
The Utes’ loss on Saturday revealed a few things about Wilson. First, he’s still a young player who can have the tendency to force throws if he is hurried. He’ll look back at the tape and realize that his interceptions were a result of trying to make too much out of something that wasn’t there.
But perhaps more importantly, Wilson showed that he is capable of bouncing back from his mistakes. As Utah moves forward, this characteristic will be of utmost importance. Thus far in 2013, the Utes have only gone as far as their quarterback has taken them.
It’s likely that Wilson will continue to experience growing pains. But if his overall performance on Saturday is any indication, it’s also clear that he’ll be able to overcome those mistakes and be a solid leader for the Utes for the next nine games of this season and two more campaigns after that.
After all, he’s just a sophomore.