Former Georgia offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson signed with the Bulldogs as a five-star recruit in the class of 2017 out of Brooklyn, New York.
Fast forward three years later, and the 6-foot-7, 350 pound tackle is a first round selection of the Tennessee Titans at the 2020 NFL Draft.
A few days after being drafted, Wilson remotely sat down with the voice of the Tennessee Titans, Mike Keith, to partake in a virtual interview, really diving into Wilson as a person and his journey to becoming a first round draft pick.
One of the questions that Keith asked Wilson was where he got his nickname from. As seen on his social media, Wilson goes by the nickname “Panda.”
The story behind that can be viewed below, starting at the 7:35 mark.
Wilson stated that it was actually running back prospect (at the time) DeeJay Dallas who gave him that nickname during a high school training camp.
“I was sitting down Indian style, because I’m a big guy and it stretches out my hips…
He walked over, and he was like, ‘you’re just a big panda.’ It stuck. Everyone kind of went with it.”
Dallas was a 4-star running back recruit out of Glynn Academy in Brunswick, Georgia in the class of 2017. If you remember, Dallas actually committed to Georgia while Mark Richt was still head coach. He de-committed in December of 2015 following Richt’s firing, but followed Richt to Miami. Dallas was recently picked in the fourth round of the 2020 draft by Seattle.
I recommend watching the video in full, as Wilson discusses a lot more than where his nickname came from.
Get the story behind the nickname Panda 🐼
First round pick @_LayZay_ chats with Mike Keith. pic.twitter.com/z4tI0ch8Ar
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) April 29, 2020