Signing day led two Yellow Jackets to new course

By Ken Sugiura

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Two years ago, Denzel McCoy signed with Georgia Tech to close a heated pursuit that didn’t end after he made his commitment to the school. The defensive lineman from Northview High continued to receive calls and emails from coaches at USC, Florida State, Auburn, Oregon and other powerhouses in hopes he would waffle on his allegiance to the Yellow Jackets.

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Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Denzel McCoy signs his scholarship papers to Georgia Tech with his mother Renee McCoy, left, and principal Pamela Spalla during a ceremony at Northview High School on Feb. 3, 2010. A heart condition stopped McCoy's football dream but he eventually wants to own an IT company.

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AJC file Columbia High School's Antonio Wilson signed with Georgia Tech in 2008 after surprising folks by switching to Tech from Vanderbilt. Injuries derailed Wilson's football dreams but he's scheduled to graduate with a management degree in May.

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“You know how the business is,” he said. “They’ve got to try.”

The experience of Antonio Wilson, who signed with Tech four years ago, is the reason why they do. Wilson, a defensive end from Columbia High, committed to Vanderbilt in late January 2008, but switched to Tech at the last minute. The surprise prompted an irate call from a Vanderbilt assistant on signing day.

“He was like, ‘How could you do this to us?’” Wilson said.

Tech coaches and fans, as well as Wilson and McCoy, hoped the signings were but precursors for standout careers. Instead, they proved to be the highlight. Neither played a snap for the Jackets, McCoy because of a heart condition and Wilson because of a neck injury. They are reminders that the taste of glory that attends signing day is hardly a promise.

If he had the opportunity, Wilson said he would tell signees “that you should always follow your dreams, but sometimes when you follow your dreams, your dreams may turn into a nightmare. So you should always have a backup plan.”

Wilson’s backup plan appears better than most. He’s on track to graduate in May with a management degree. He has interviewed with Microsoft and Waffle House and has another scheduled with AT&T. He also has had internships in the music industry and wants to become a producer.

McCoy has a goal of owning his own IT company. He still contributes to the football team by helping with recruiting. He offers advice and sells the Tech experience. Being sidelined with a diagnosis of myocarditis — an inflammation of the heart muscle — gives him a rare platform.

“Kids that have dreams of going to play at the NFL level, I wasn’t one of those kids,” he said. “But school is the most important thing to me.”

Held out of practice since being diagnosed upon his arrival in 2010, McCoy was told before preseason camp last August that his condition hadn’t improved enough to play.

McCoy said he’ll probably take additional tests in coming weeks, but he sounds like someone who has made peace.

McCoy said he hopes to play again, “but if not, it’s fine. There’s always other things to do. I’m not going to let it bring me down.”

Wilson had more difficulty accepting his lot. After practicing on the scout team in the fall of 2008, Wilson began suffering “stingers” — numbness, burning or weakness in arms and fingers caused by a pinched or stretched nerve — in the following spring practice. When both shoulders hurt, Wilson said trainers told him it was symptomatic of a neck injury. An MRI revealed that his narrow spinal column was causing pressure on his spinal cord, Wilson said. Surgery was recommended.

“I was really scared,” he said. “I thought my life was going to end.”

Wilson recovered from surgery and said he was declared “healthy, 100 percent,” but he never gained clearance from doctors to play. The process still frustrates Wilson.

When he was told he would never play at Tech, “I was like, ‘Is this really happening? Why is this happening? I just got here,’” Wilson said.

Wilson was bent on playing in the NFL, like the Tech player who had entertained him on a recruiting visit, All-American Michael Johnson. To friends who told him that he was still on scholarship and could get his degree, “I was like, yeah, yeah, whatever.”

For months, he brooded and stayed away from the team, but maturity and another passion have settled his anger. Since last summer, Wilson has interned with local music-production companies, including Chartcontrol, owned by Isaac Hayes III, son of the late singer. Hayes said Wilson has the tools to make it in the business.

“Definitely, if he sticks with it,” Hayes said.

Three months from graduation and with the world opening before him, Wilson said things have worked out for the best.

Just not in a way that he could have scarcely imagined four Februarys ago.