Work never ends for 'football junkie' Russell Wilson
RENTON, Wash. —Darren Fells never asked how Russell Wilson got his phone number. He didn't recognize the number on the other end when the call came in, either.
Fells, a 27-year-old former pro basketball player for whom "project" is an understated title, was just a day or two removed from signing with the Seattle Seahawks when the team's starting quarterback extended an invitation to join his new teammates for workouts in Los Angeles.
"That was an extremely surreal experience for me," Fells told USA TODAY Sports. "I was sitting down. My girlfriend was sitting right next to me. Right when I got that call and he was like, 'Hi, this is Russell Wilson,' I actually, like, sat up. I was in shock. I didn't think I was awake."
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll smiled as the story was recounted in a hallway at the team's headquarters after a recent training camp practice.
He hadn't heard it before – about Wilson asking everyone in the building for Fells' number before an assistant coach found it, about Wilson offering to pay for Fells and his girlfriend to make the trip, as he'd done for other rookies and veterans alike – but it came as no surprise.
"He's got everything within his grasp," Carroll said of Wilson. "He knows the people. He knows the urgency of getting to know those guys. He would be wide open to everyone (having) a chance."
A year ago, Wilson couldn't be sure he'd get his chance, much less throw for 3,118 yards and 26 touchdowns in a rookie season that saw him beat veterans Matt Flynn and Tarvaris Jackson in camp and lead the Seahawks to the NFC divisional playoffs.
He'd fallen to the third round, the 75th pick overall, in the NFL draft because of his small stature; he's a shade under 5-11. But the Seahawks were sold on his anticipation, eyes, decision-making and ability to move in the pocket.
Everyone has a story
Ask about Wilson now, and everyone has a story, from chasing down a tight end who hadn't played football since high school, to regurgitating an advance scout's report verbatim, to poking his head in on a post-practice workout of several free-agent receivers last week.
"I think it's all about having an edge in this game – as much edge as you can get," Wilson said. "An understanding of how guys play. ... You've got to trust in what you see and believe in it and let the rest take care of itself, because once you've prepared, you're already ready."
Wilson, 24, offered to pay for all his tight ends, receivers and running backs to fly in for that week of workouts in L.A. before the offseason program began in April. The gesture is more significant when considering he has to play out at least two more seasons under a rookie contract that included a modest signing bonus of $619,472.
But that's Wilson. Every Monday last season, he coaxed rookies into the weight room. The day after the 30-28 playoff loss to the Atlanta Falcons – a game the Seahawks rallied to lead with three fourth-quarter touchdowns before the Falcons' winning field goal – Wilson was in the film room.
"He came in the same way he is now," wide receiver Sidney Rice said. "The film study, he did it his first day here. The way he carries himself, he did it his first day here. He came out here, proved himself on the field. He's still doing that right now. ... Russell's been Russell since Day One."
'Hard not to follow'
Wilson is fond of referring to the Seahawks as a family, which can be
cliché. But it doesn't sound that way when it comes out of his mouth, or when he backs it up by tracking down a phone number even general manager John Schneider didn't have when Wilson called about Fells.
"He's a hard guy not to follow," Schneider said. "(Fells is) a guy that's a former basketball player that we're doing an experiment with, and he's trying to figure out how to get ahold of the guy so he can bring him down to the beach to work out.
"He's just very rare in that regard. He's a football junkie."
The expectations are higher this season for the Seahawks and their quarterback, though Wilson doesn't hesitate when asked if he believed his rookie year would go the way it did.
"I did. I always believe in myself," Wilson said. "The thing I believed in is just getting better every week. If I can do that, you give yourself a chance. I've got to be better than I was the last game of last year and keep going. That's the way I think."
How does he do that?
"Through hard work, man," Wilson said. "Watching tons of film. Doing the same thing, being consistent in your approach. Being clutch when you have to be and trying to dominate the game when you can."
Those are clichés, too, but they ring true to teammates.
"He's an extremely great leader," Fells said. "The first day I was out there, he was giving me pointers right off the bat. Anything I did wrong or needed to improve on, he told me right away what I can do. Stayed after a little bit, worked on it. He's just ready to win a Super Bowl."
Work never ends for 'football junkie' Russell Wilson
