Russell Okung stands 6-foot-5 and, as the starting left tackle for the Seahawks, gets paid to protect the quarterback. But the first time he saw Russell Wilson, he barely could see the quarterback. Wilson, standing at attention, is 5-11 on a good day.
That’s above-average for a male, but quite below-average for a guy who spends his time taking NFL snaps. Yet Okung says he never, ever had his doubts.
“Because I could see his heart before I could see his stature,’’ Okung said Monday at the Seattle team hotel in Jersey City. “As I saw his heart, it led us to follow him.’’
Follow him they have, all the way to Super Bowl XLVIII, where the tale of the tape at quarterback indicates this could be a knockout for the Broncos. After all, Peyton Manning is as tall (6-5) as an NBA shooting guard and just completed his 16th NFL season. He is without peer. Wilson is without height, but has put together an impressive body of work in his two seasons — going 27-9, including the playoffs, with a 100.6 passer rating. And yet, it is only two seasons.
Still, a child shall lead the Seahawks, as Wilson has had a Pied Piper effect on those around him — so much so that not one of them concedes the quarterback battle to Manning and the Broncos.
“I don’t feel it’s a disadvantage,’’ tight end Zach Miller said. “I feel like Russell’s proven himself all year. The one thing I always say about him is he’s so much more mature than his age [25]. He plays like he’s so much older, he doesn’t make very many mistakes. If he makes a mistake, it’s such a rarity everyone kinds of laughs about it because he’s so on-point with his game-planning, with his study, everything he does is of a mature quarterback.’’
Perhaps it’s his unique journey that has created that maturity.
Wilson spent three seasons as the starter at N.C. State, but planned to spend the summer after his junior season playing second base in the Rockies’ system. That didn’t sit well with N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien, who released him from the final year of his football scholarship. Wilson, who played for the Class-A Asheville Tourists that summer, landed at Wisconsin and won the starting job.
A third-round pick, Wilson entered his first training camp looking more like a project than a starter, but he promptly beat out Matt Flynn, who had signed a three-year, $20.5 million deal that offseason, and was the starter from Day One.
Miller, who is 6-5, laughs and admits the first time he was introduced to Wilson and informed he was the new quarterback he did a double take.
“Definitely when he first showed up you do notice he’s shorter than the average quarterback,’’ Miller said. “But just getting a chance to play with him and that whole training camp when he was a rookie and how he handled himself, he wins you over really quick. You immediately notice he’s a play-maker, that he knows exactly what he’s doing and he wants to win so bad. You can’t help but want to do well for him.’’
That’s the overriding sentiment around Wilson: You want to do well for him. In some ways he’s like the little brother, but in other ways he’s like the wise old veteran showing the way.
“You see his heart and you see he is committed to it,’’ Okung said. “You see the way he speaks and the way he carries himself, how’s he’s always the first guy there and one of the last to leave. On his first day. His first day! Those type of guys stick around, those are the guys who last, at least to me.’’
Wilson has the ability to make his teammates feel as if they are playing out in the street with the way he improvises and gets those stubby but strong legs churning.
“Really the best thing is not all the time you’re going to be open, sometimes the defense is going to guess correctly and have the right coverage, but he can extend the play with the legs,’’ receiver Golden Tate said. “At that point for me it’s kind of like playing backyard football. Just find a way to get open. We call one play and it could turn into another play because he’s so blessed in the way he can scramble and run around.’’
Tate, in his fourth season, is 5-10, so he and Wilson see eye-to-eye.
“I’m smaller than most receivers so I can feel him, us little people, we take a lot of pride,’’ Tate said. “I had no doubt he could do it. He’s proven every single day, every single week he can. He’s a great player. I’m having fun growing with him.’’
Okung, asked to recount his favorite Russell Wilson story, did not oblige.
“I don’t think a story would do the right justice of saying what type of player and what type of man he is,’’ Okung said. “I tell you man, the magic number’s three.’’
In case you hadn’t guessed, that’s Wilson number.