Shortly after his birth, Ontaria Wilson’s grandmother gave him a nickname that would last for life.
As it turns out, she was more prophetic than she could have ever imagined.
Speaking to the media before Florida State’s practice Wednesday morning, Wilson explained that his grandmother called him “Pokey” because she thought he resembled a character from the popular Pokémon cartoon.
“Ever since then, everybody be calling me that,” said Wilson, who uses the handle @pokeywilson on Twitter.
Based on how Wilson is performing this spring with the Florida State offense, his nickname has perhaps never been more appropriate.
While even casual fans of the animated Japanese series are familiar with its catch phrase, “Gotta Catch 'Em All,” there’s a much smaller group of Florida State insiders who know that Wilson is earning a reputation for catching 'em all during the Seminoles’ practices this spring.
Since making the move from cornerback to wide receiver at the start of spring drills, the Ashburn, Ga., product has provided an instant spark for the Seminoles’ passing game.
“He’s really talented, and very skillful,” FSU head coach Willie Taggart said. “He’s one of those kids that could play a lot of different positions for you. But I was really impressed with his ball skills. The kid makes all kinds of catches. And then just the speed … you can’t teach that. And he runs like he’s a cross-country runner. He can run for days, and he’s fast with it as well.”
Because he redshirted last season and was only a three-star recruit coming out of high school, FSU’s first-year coaching staff might not have known right away what they had in Wilson.
But once the Seminoles started going through their winter conditioning program, which Taggart calls, "The Chase,” the coaches immediately started debating how best to use the 6-foot, 168-pound speedster’s talents.
“As a staff, we started questioning, ‘What can he be?’” Taggart said. “We know he could be a good DB if we want him to. But we also thought he could be a good receiver. The kid has crazy ball skills, and he’s really, really fast.”
Although he was recruited by most schools to play cornerback, Wilson showed plenty of offensive play-making potential in high school. He racked up 648 yards and six touchdowns as a receiver, and he also scored seven non-offensive touchdowns -- three on interception returns, three on punt returns and one on a kickoff return.
When asked Wednesday to name his favorite NFL players, Wilson quickly rattled off a pair of wide receivers -- Odell Beckham Jr. and Antonio Brown -- before adding that he also likes former FSU defensive back Jalen Ramsey.
