NICKS AND BRUISES: Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, who was charged with reckless driving, has a visible scar (circled) on the left side of his neck from the June 25 car accident. (Neil Miller)
Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson is used to hard hits and collisions with opposing linemen on the football field. But a few weeks ago, he was involved in another kind of collision when his car hit another vehicle and flipped over. Wilkerson, who crawled out of the wreck, emerging with minor bruises, spoke publicly for the first time about the incident yesterday.
“I’m feeling fine. I’m feeling good,” Wilkerson said, not going into any detail about the accident. “Just some bumps and bruises that I have. Everything is fine. Went to the team doctors, they checked me out. Everything is fine and I’ll be ready to go [to training camp] in Cortland come [July] 25th.”
The accident occurred June 25 at approximately 4:30 a.m. when Wilkerson was driving on the Garden State Parkway. Wilkerson was charged with reckless driving and failure to maintain his lane after his 2011 Dodge Challenger flipped over and hit a Toyota Sienna that had 11 passengers in it. No one was seriously hurt, and Wilkerson escaped with a few cuts, including stitches in his right forearm.
Yesterday, his right hand was wrapped up, and he also had a visible scar on the left side of his neck, running from behind his ear to under his chin. But Wilkerson said several times he was OK.
“With that situation, all I can say is, I am grateful that everybody was fine,” he said. “Nobody was seriously injured. It was a tragic thing that happened, but I’m just happy that everybody is OK.”
Wilkerson was at Linden High School in New Jersey where he played football and basketball, running a football camp for kids. He is very active in the community, coming back as often as he can to help kids make the right decisions, preaching to stay in school and out of trouble.
After a solid rookie campaign, Wilkerson, the 30th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, is expected to figure more prominently in the Jets’ defensive scheme this year. But that plan could be hindered if he is hurt more than he was letting on.
“I’m looking forward to going up to Cortland with my teammates,” he said. “I haven’t been up there. Just to get the pads back on and know that the season is almost here, I’m all for it. I can’t wait till camp starts.”
After talking to the kids, giving them T-shirts and doing some light football drills, Wilkerson said something that undoubtedly will irk his head coach, Rex Ryan, who never misses a chance to proclaim his Jets the best team in New York.
“Most of [the kids were] just telling me they are Giants fans,” Wilkerson said. “I guess as long as they like a team in New York, that’s good enough for me.”