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Tar Heels' Wilson a magnet for freak accidents, injuries
Photo Courtesy of UNC
Defensive end E.J. Wilson has become one of the Tar Heels' best defensive players.
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Published: October 23, 2008
CHAPEL HILL
E.J. Wilson absorbs bone-jarring hits every Saturday for North Carolina, but that's nothing new for him.
Wilson, a junior defensive end, had a series of accidents and injuries growing up in Emporia, Va., that gave him a preview of the sometimes violent nature of football.
When he looks back, he wonders how he lasted long enough to make it to North Carolina.
"I'm just a blessed child," Wilson said, breaking into a big smile. "I've had more lives than a cat."
Wilson then added that if he were a cat he would probably have only two lives left.
"It shows me that I can't take anything for granted," Wilson said. "I have to live my life to the fullest. I can't be down about anything."
At age 6, a cousin accidentally struck him in the forehead with a baseball bat when they were horsing around. A year later, he was hit while on his bike by a car that he said was traveling 70 mph.
In the sixth grade, a go-kart accident injured his left hand, which needed reconstructive surgery. When he was a junior in high school, he had a cyst removed from under one of his arms. The stitches were taken out on a Thursday and he played the next night.
As a high-school senior, he was in basketball practice and caught an accidental elbow that broke his nose. He had surgery and lost 20 pounds.
He bears a slight scar on his forehead, and has a scar in the back of his head from the bicycle accident.
Fortunately for Wilson his mother, Helen, is a nurse.
"It was always helpful to have her around," he said. "I saw her a whole lot; more than she wanted. She never said anything. I guess mothers expect little boys to go out and get bumps and bruises, but not as extreme as mine were."
Slowed but never stopped, he moved on to become one of this season's top defensive players for the Tar Heels and has started all seven games. Perhaps most surprising, he hasn't been injured.
Wilson said he was riding his bicycle near a cousin's house, and he turned around to talk to his cousin and didn't notice that his bike was rolling toward the road. He never saw the car coming.
The force of the car knocked Wilson in the air and he was told that he flipped three times before landing. He was knocked unconscious for about two minutes.
He suffered no head injuries or broken bones, but spent one night in the hospital.
"I guess God was just watching over me," Wilson said.
The go-kart accident began when it went out of control and started to flip. He extended his left arm to brace toward the surface, but his hand caught between the road and the go-kart and was damaged.
A pin was inserted into one finger in which the bone shattered. Months later in the summer Wilson was playing basketball and the pin, which he said was only temporary, popped out of his hand while shooting a layup. He wasn't even fouled.
"I picked it up and ran home as fast as I could," Wilson said with a laugh. "I was terrified. I didn't know what was going to happen."
Three of the accidents took place near Wilson's home.
"As long as you don't schedule any football games in my old neighborhood I should be good to go," Wilson said.
Wilson has found a use for all the punishment his body has taken. Tough days in practice or in the classroom don't seem all that hard to being mowed down by a speeding Cadillac.
"I'm trying to make it so that everybody around me is OK," Wilson said.
■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.
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