Quincy Wilson excited to join Fairmont State coaching staff
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MORGANTOWN -- Quincy Wilson already had known disappointment in south Florida.
In 2003, the legendary West Virginia running back had scored what looked to be the winning touchdown in what would have been among the most unexpected upsets in Mountaineer history.
Pulling off what is generally considered one of the most impossible plays in school history for a 1-3 WVU team facing the nation's No. 2 team in the Miami Hurricanes on their home Orange Bowl turf, Wilson gave them a 20-19 lead with just two minutes to play, only to have the victory snatched away on an incredible, acrobatic fourth-down catch by tight end Kellen Winslow that led to a last-second field to give Miami the 22-20 victory.
Compared to that, the disappointment Wilson went through in his first head coaching assignment last year when his team at the University of Fort Lauderdale played just one game and lost it before forfeiting away the rest of the season due to a lack of players seemed like nothing, and he's ready to move on from it,
"I get to come home and do something I love," Wilson said as he began his new job as running back coach under Jason Woodson at Fairmont State.
If his venture into head coaching at Fort Lauderdale turned into fool's gold, he believes this is the real thing.
"We're sitting on a gold mine, to me," he said. "You see the success Fairmont has had in other sports. It's a great university. It's a great football program."
Recent years have not been kind, though, and last year the Fighting Falcons were tormented by the results of a 3-8 season that easily could have been turned around. No fewer than six games were decided by 5 or fewer points, two in overtime, three by 2 points and two by 3 points.
"Sometimes you just need an influx and that's what I'm trying to be, that influx that gets us over the hump," Wilson said.
He knows the fans are ready for a turnaround.
"I've had so many alums reach out to say 'I'm fired up over this.' Well thanks. You know, through Facebook you are connected with the whole world. It's good to have that excitement. Maybe those people have only come for Homecoming; now maybe they'll come for a couple of games."
Wilson, of course, was one of the greatest high school players in state history, winning the Kennedy Award at Weir High in Weirton when he became the first player to rush for more than 3,000 yards in a season with 3,262 yards on 351 carries. That's 9.4 yards a carry and 233 yards per game.
He headed for WVU where was a third-team All-American as Rich Rodriguez was building toward his greatest teams.
So he knows something about West Virginia and how to keep the kids home. Fairmont has seen any number of top line prospects led by the Stills brothers and Zach Frazier head to WVU as he did.
"I tell kids in recruiting. I went to West Virginia. It's the home state school. I know the dream, but now with this portal and stuff, there's a vacuum in there for us at Fairmont to sneak in, get to kids early and say 'Why spend two years not playing when you can be someplace as a first-team all-conference guy,'" he said.
Wilson says he's not troubled by his experience at Fort Lauderdale.
The school, which is in a strip mall there and has no home football, had a football team only for one year when Wilson was hired. Former Miami Dolphin player Chris Chambers had coached the first team, and it had gone 0-7 with most of the losses being 50 or more points.
Wilson had spent time as a graduate assistant at WVU and as running back coach at Glenville State and under his former teammate John Pennington at West Virginia State when he was hired.
But it turned into a disaster as his small roster was devastated by injuries. The first game for the small Christian school was against Division II Erskine. Wilson's Eagles lost, 49-2, while playing only 20 minutes before calling the game over because they were running out of players.
The next game was cancelled, and the next, and Wilson eventually resigned, the team being turned over on an interim basis to Damon Cogdell, another former Mountaineer.
No other games were played by the school last year.
"I wish them the best. No ill feelings, no bad feelings. It just didn't work out. It was one of those things. I was just trying to be an agent of change and it didn't work," Wilson said.
"I wish the best for him, and I'm going forward. I'm ready for this next chapter."
It didn't sour Wilson on the coaching business or his ultimate dream of being a head coach.
"If anything, it made me hungrier," he admitted. "The main goal is always to sit in the head seat. I got a taste of it. Once you taste it, it's all you think of. But for now, it's been where your feet are. I'm going to try to be the best running back coach in the country and do what I can to help us win every Saturday."