Tulsa lands highly-recruited 3-star LB
Tulsa football coaches had a very successful Friday evening, picking up two commitments out of Tennessee, with the latest coming from a highly recruited 3-star linebacker.
6-foot-2, 220 pound Petera Wilson gave TU head coach Bill Blankenship a verbal pledge after the two visited in Memphis. Wilson said he chose Tulsa because it's a "great program", and he was emphatic about his decision when asked what other schools he had been considering.
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"Tulsa, Tulsa and Tulsa," he stated.
Mississippi State also made a late push with Wilson, but after he took an official visit to Tulsa on January 24, his mind was made up.
Wilson is rated as the No. 15 overall prospect in the state of Tennessee by Rivals.com. He was also rated as high as No. 9 nationally at inside linebacker. The big, strong athlete began the recruiting cycle as one of the nation's top 250 prospects.
Last spring, Wilson excelled at the Rivals Camp Series stop in Birmingham, Alabama, and Rivals.com analysts came away impressed.
"At the RCS Birmingham, Wilson turned in a great showing. He has all the traits of an SEC linebacker, with good size, speed and athleticism."
Wilson was also listed as one of the top defensive surprises from the Rivals Camp Series.
"Memphis linebacker Petera Wilson came into the RCS Birmingham stop ranked in the Rivals250, but his performance ranked right up there with some of the Rivals100 prospects in attendance. He plays much bigger than the 6-foot-1 he's listed at, and he can really move in open space. In pads he's a punishing hitter, so it was good to see him hold his own against running backs and tight ends in coverage. There's a reason he has offers from several elite programs, and whichever school lands him might have a guy who is ready to contribute early in his career."
Wilson picked up early offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Georgia, Ohio State, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas Tech, USC, UCLA and others. However, he decided not to make an early decision, and most of those teams either filled up at his position or later backed off. That allowed Tulsa to land an absolute steal.
As a senior last season, Wilson earned first-team all-state honors and was selected last month for the 2014 Offense-Defense All-American Bowl.
Earlier in the afternoon on Friday, another Memphis product -- Whitehaven running back Ramadi Warren -- switched his commitment from Arkansas State to Tulsa. The 5-foot-9, 175 pound speedster also had offers from North Carolina, UAB, Memphis and Middle Tennessee State.
Signing day is Wednesday, February 5, and Tulsa is finishing strong. The Hurricane now has 19 recruits in its 2014 class, including three early enrollees. With more official visitors on campus this weekend, expect to see TU add two more commitments before Wednesday, and possibly up to four.
Stay tuned to InsideTulsaSports.com for all the latest news on Tulsa football recruiting, and stop by on February 5 for the absolute best TU signing day coverage.
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