Tennessee Titans offensive tackle, Isaiah Wilson, was originally committed to Alabama before ultimately deciding to play for Georgia, but the story of why he changed his mind is nothing short of fascinating.
During an appearance on the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast, hosted by Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan and former Tennessee linebacker Will Compton, Wilson says he decommitted from the Crimson Tide because Nick Saban didn’t give him a hug.
“I was committed to ‘Bama for a long time… Nick Saban didn’t give me a hug, so I decommitted,” Wilson explained (warning: NSFW). “I just committed, I was hoping I could get one…”
Wilson says he extended his arms for a hug, but was met with a handshake from the legendary coach instead, and that sealed the deal that he wasn’t going to play for the Crimson Tide.
That wasn’t the only interesting recruiting story Wilson shared, though.
When being courted by Michigan, head coach Jim Harbaugh showed up to Wilson’s house wearing cleats, but didn’t take them off upon entering, which is peak Jim Harbaugh.
Wilson’s mother was not happy the Michigan coach was wearing his cleats on her hardwood floors, and the rest, as they say, is history.
“He did something stupid weird… Remember when they first got the deal with Jordan? He just wouldn’t take off his cleats. He came to my in-home visit with cleats on his feet. And I have hardwood floors. And he’s just walking around with cleats bro.
“We looked. My mom was coming in hot, asking ‘why could he not have taken off his shoes?’ After that, it was over. Super weird.”
So, did Wilson’s eventual head coach at Georgia, Kirby Smart, give him a hug?
“You better believe he did,” Wilson said.
You’d never assume a hulking 6-foot-5, 350-pound man is so big on hugging, but here we are…
After getting his hug and playing his college ball at Georgia, Wilson was drafted by the Titans with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
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