Kevin Fountaine hasn’t understood any of this.
He has reached out to Titans offensive linemanIsaiah Wilson, not to preach but to offer his help and guidance, the way a high school football coach does.
“It’s surprising to see. It’s sad to see, too,” said Fountaine, Wilson’s coach at New York’s Poly Prep. “I just hope he kind of wakes up a little. …
“It’s almost like he’s self-destructing on purpose.”
For a player drafted in the first round, Wilson's rookie season couldn't have gonemuch worse than it has to this point. Hisoff-field issues have included aDUI arrest prior to the season's first game and an in-house suspension for the most recent one.He has been placed twice on the COVID-19 list. He has rarely been active for games.
It’sseemed a minor victory for the Titans just to have him on the practice field. Haven't been able to count on thateach week, either.
On Wednesday, the Titans put Wilson on the reserve non-football illness list for what general manager JonRobinson said were "personal issues, whichwill take some time for him to work through."
You hope he's OK.
He'snot on the active roster.He’s not practicing again, and it'sa stronghint that the Titans aren’t expecting him to play again this season.
By now, one has to wonder how much longer the Titans are willing to put up with Wilson.
More:Titans move first-round pick Isaiah Wilson to reserve/non-football illness list
The extra chances he'sreceivingarebecause he’s a first-roundpick.NFL teams won’t win very often by wasting those picks the way the Titans – at least so far – appear to have wasted theirs in 2020 on Wilson, an offensive lineman from the University of Georgia. The Titans are starting to bend over backward to avoid that indignity.
There will be a limit at some point.Wilson isgetting closer.
“This season hasn’t gone quite as well as it probably should have,” said Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, who was Wilson’s O-line coach at Georgia, “and he’s certainly hadthings to do with that himself.”
And we’ve stillno idea whether Wilsoncan actually play in the NFL. We’ve barely seen him do it. Other than a handful of snaps in garbage time on Nov. 29 against the Colts, hehasn’t played for the Titans.
Wilson followed up his brief debut in Indianapolis by being suspended by the Titans for the following week’s gamefor “violating club rules.” That’s the kind of nonspecific explanation a college program gives about a rowdy freshman. You wouldn’t normally see it in the pros because, again, an NFL team wouldmoreeasily release atroublesome playerthan worryabout rehabilitating him.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel, however, stressed again Monday that the organization “is committed to trying to help Isaiah.”
Then two days later, the Titans put Wilson on the reserve list "with the hope that hecan ultimately rejoin the team," per Robinson.
There's clearly more to this situation than most know.
When asked about Wilson earlier this week,prior to the Titans' placing him on reserve, Fountaineand Pittman each insisted that the rookie's issues of this season have been out of character for the young man they knew.
“I just think sometimes when you play at these big programs at Georgia, you’re so structured,” Fountaine said. “Your life is on a spreadsheet. … He’s got some freedom and has some money. I don’t know. He’s not making great decisions, but he was never, never an issue while he was here.”
That’s similar to what I’ve been hearing about Wilson all year from those who knew him prior to the NFL: He’s not a bad guy. He is social andoutgoing. He’s basically “like a big kid,” Fountaine said, remembering the SpongeBob SquarePants backpack that Wilson had.
Lack of maturity does seem a likely culprit behind his problems. Wilson has yet to turn 22. While he isn’t a good fit for the you’d-better-stay-at-home year of COVID-19, suchquirks wouldn'tseemcapable ofdooming a promising NFL career.
Pittman, in the midst of his first season in Fayetteville, said he has continued to speak with Wilson recently. While the Razorbacks coach didn’t want to specify what he told his former player,“The general conversation was, ‘You’re a grown man. You’re making grown-man wages. And you have responsibilities and you certainly have to abide by the responsibilities you have.’ ”
Wilson's former coaches soundconcerned.
And for good reason. Heis risking a pro football future that has barely started, potentially throwing away millions of dollars.
And it’s still unclear why.
“I hope and pray that he’s getting turned around,” Pittman said, “because I think he’ll have a lot of value in the NFL. He just got off to a rocky start.
“He can fix that, and I believe he will.”
Reach Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Gentry_Estes.
