Holdan "Hulk" Wilson entered his final high school football game with looks from Division One schools all over the country. He left it with an open compound fracture of his tibia and fibula, drop foot compartment syndrome, and bone infection. How did Holdan Wilson manage to play football again?
Injuries frequently occur on the football field, but this was different. This same gruesome injury had happened before, and the player (Tyrone Prothro) was never the same. The injury to Prothro required nine surgeries, which saw his femur drilled through three times and the removal of five centimeters off the bone. Prothro nearly met his end due to receiving too much anesthesia and had to learn how to walk again, never mind run. This was a life-altering experience from the game of football.
Despite being hit with so much adversity, Wilson refused to give up. “Sure, I was in a hospital bed, but I took advantage of every second in that bed to research how I could recover faster. I came across a lot of supplementations. I eventually ended up working out in my wheelchair.” Wilson also has two younger brothers that played a huge part in his recovery.
“Everyone wants to make their parents proud, but I really wanted to make my little brothers proud. They’re my best friends. They were all I wanted to see when I was in that hospital bed. I knew that beating the odds would instill hard work and passion into them.” One of Wilson's brothers plays at The University of South Alabama, and the other has rushed for over 1,000 yards in his high school season.
Wilson would overcome the odds to return to the football field, but it was still far from a sure thing. He struggled to move the way he wanted to at Troy University, where he was cut and told he would never play for them. Wilson would eventually make his way to Huntington University, but that didn’t pan out before walking on with Jacksonville State. Things were going well at Jacksonville State, but it quickly went downhill.
There was a coaching change at JSU, but more tragically, Wilson’s positional coach passed away. This coaching change meant a new system and new faces and that’s what led Wilson to Dean. “The visit to Dean sold me. It felt amazing to be wanted again. They genuinely believed in me. I needed that confidence. I had beaten everything. They knew I was better. They knew I could make an impact. I needed that.”
Wilson has been a force for Dean this season, amassing more than 200 all-purpose yards and six tackles on special teams, and is also a member of the football teams leadership council. Wilson will be in action again this Saturday afternoon as the Bulldogs travel to Maritime Academy to take on the Privateers, with kick-off set for 2:00 PM.
You go Holdan!