Fans of Friday Night Lights will remember the character Ray "Voodoo" Tatum, a star quarterback who transferred to Dillon, disrupting the team's chemistry and nearly destroying the Panthers' playoff chances in the show's first season. I was reminded of Voodoo while reading about big-shot quarterback Russell Wilson transferring to Wisconsin this week.
Wilson finished a bachelor's degree in communications from North Carolina State while using up just three seasons of football eligibility. That means he'll be able to step in and play this fall for the Badgers, provided he enrolls in a graduate program not offered by his former school (dairy sciences, perhaps?). Fans who believe the 2011 Badgers - with the tailback tandem of Montee Ball and James White and an imposing offensive line - are just a solid quarterback away from competing for the Big Ten title are giddy about Wilson's gaudy stats, if message boards are any indication.
But so far, we haven't heard much from the players, the four-year guys who bought into the program's traditions and methodology long ago and have put in a lot of time building mutual trust. Gelling with them will have to be Wilson's top priority when he arrives in town.
For his part, the confident-but-modest Wilson seems to be saying all the right things about expecting to compete for the starting quarterback job with Jon Budmayr, who underwhelmed at the Spring Game. There's only four weeks until training camp for Wilson to convince his new teammates that he's sincere.
