Jerrell Wilson (1973) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Jerrell Wilson

Induction:
1973

In the era that Jerrel Wilson played football, you had to be versatile if you wanted to earn playing time. It was difficult for a player to specialize at one position, unless he was so much better and so much more valuable at that position than anyone else.
   No, most players of that era could be found playing on offense and defense and more than likely on the special teams. Jerrel Wilson was that type of player, one that was willing to do whatever he could do to earn playing time and help himself win. In the meantime he developed into one of the best punters of that era and after a successful college career would go on to become one of the best in the history of professional football.
   Wilson always had the tools necessary to be a great player. Coming out of Brookhaven, Mississippi, he went on to Pearl River Junior College where he would earn All-American honors.
   He would begin his Southern Miss career as a center and at 6-4, 215 pounds he had the size and strength to be a standout at that position. But punting was quickly becoming his specialty and he was the primary punter on the 1961 team that went 8-2. Wilson would punt 24 times that year an average 38.0 yards per kick. His booming and high hanging kicks allowed the opponents to return only 10 of those kicks all season and for only 66 yards.
   Wilson proved early on in his career that he had great control of the football and was adept at dropping the ball down inside the 10-yard line and pinning the opponents deep in their own territory and hanging it high and allowing his coverage team to race downfield and force a fair catch or no return.
   He also connected on one of three extra point kicks and one of four field goals.
   Wilson moved to fullback in 1962 and was an essential part of the team that finished 9-1 and captured the UPI College Division National Championship. Wilson punted 33 times that season for a 37.6 average and less than half of those kicks were able to be returned.
   Defenses will tell you how important it is to keep the opposition pinned back deep and Wilson deep booming accurate kicks allowed the Southern Miss defense that year to give up only 67 points and an average of only 170.6 yards a game.
   From his fullback spot Wilson carried the ball 37 times that year for 229 yards (5.2 average) and scored three touchdowns. As a place-kicker he hit seven of 10 extra point kicks and two of four field goals.
   Wilson punted 57 times in his Southern Miss career for a 37.8 yard average and had only 36.8 percent of those returned for just an 8.0 yard average. Only a few players have ever had a lower percentage of their punts returned.
   He was taken in the 17th round of the 1963 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams, but wound up signing with the Kansas City Chiefs of the AFL. He played for the Chiefs from 1963 to 1977 as established himself as the best punter in pro football. He won a SuperBowl