Plant's Wilder touted as nation's best LB and RB

Plant (Tampa, Fla.) coach Robert Weiner calls James Wilder, Jr. "the single most disruptive force I ever have seen in high school football. He has unbelievable balance and is amazingly explosive. He has such keen football IQ and is one of the smartest players I've ever had."

CBS MaxPreps recruiting analyst Tom Lemming calls him "the best player in the country. He's an All-American on both sides of the ball. He's sort of like the Babe Ruth (great pitcher and hitter) of football, because he's the top running back and linebacker in the country."

But leave it to Tampa native Katherine Smith, who covers Plant for the Tampa Tribune, to paint a vivid picture of Wilder in action.

She says, "His trademark run is dragging defenders along with him. That and a stiff-arm. They (the would-be tacklers) are sore the next day – and into the next week. He's the best I've ever seen. I've never seen a high school athlete dominate like he does. He is a nightmare (for opponents)."

Smith said Wilder made three amazing runs "that just defy logic" during his junior year while sparking the Panthers to a 13-1 record and the Class 5A state title.

"Against Armwood (Seffner, Fla.) he just took over on both sides of the football," she recalled. "On the final 10 yards of a 15-yard run he dragged virtually the entire Armwood defense with him. The Plant side just went crazy.

"Against Manatee (Bradenton, Fla.) three guys were converging on him. He literally bowled them all over to gain another 15 yards.

"There was one at Lakeland (Fla.) where he carried a host of defenders into the end zone from 10 yards. You could see the Lakeland defenders just shaking their heads."

The powerful 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior takes his No. 1 ranking in stride.

"That's awesome," he said. "It makes me feel good, but I still have to keep it up. I've definitely got to live up to it. I don't want to disappoint anybody."

Wilder insists he feels no pressure from his lofty rating, or from being the son of James Wilder, who still holds the rushing and receiving records for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He says his father taught him "everything — to run lower and powerful and to deliver hits instead of receiving them."

Though he has grown up as a standout linebacker, he long has been in love with the running back position, as evidenced by his idol — NFL star Adrian Peterson. He explained that Peterson "Is a taller back and upright runner like me."

As a sophomore, Wilder was basically a linebacker at Chamberlain (Tampa, Fla.) and when he faced Plant he didn't have a very impressive game.

Coach Weiner recalled, "He looked like he had a world of potential. But the great player wasn't getting there. We beat them 27-13 and that was one of our best games that year. We get a good laugh watching him on film. Our field was in terrible shape. We ran a reverse at him and his legs were spinning."

However, after Wilder transferred to Plant as a junior, Weiner said, "When we saw James physically, it changed everything. He is sculptured and definitely looks the part. He passes the sight test. He hadn't learned how to work his body."

Today Wilder can bench press 335 pounds and run the 40-yard dash in a swift 4.5 seconds.

"We had to make sure he got his grades right at first. We had to take care of business. I was really proud of him at the end of last year. He made a huge jump (his best GPA, 2.71). That took a huge load off his shoulders," Weiner pointed out.

Weiner kept him at linebacker, but also gave him his first big shot at running the ball. He rewarded his new coach by rushing for 1,004 yards (7.49 average per carry) and scoring 15 touchdowns for the state champs. He also had 136 tackles, 19 sacks and caused six fumbles.

Early on, Weiner learned that Wilder's very presence on offense and defense made a huge impact on what the opponents would do. He noted, "So often he would not get the ball, but he would bring at least half of the defense to him. They would run away from him (on defense), but last year the kid on the other side (David McCarthy) had 18 sacks. You have to pick your poison."

Even during practice sessions, Weiner uses his budding star to his own advantage. He explained, "When we go best on best, I always take him with me because I know we can't block him."

In his first two regular-season games this year, Wilder has run for 88 and 208 yards, respectively. He also had five sacks in one outing. The young superstar not only goes both ways, but he also is a standout on special teams, where he blocked eight kicks last year.

"He really is in tremendous condition," Weiner praised. "He doesn't want to come out."

Wilder admits, "I play with reckless abandon. I go 100 percent on every play even when I'm exhausted. The coaches have to explain to me four times when I'm tired to come out of the game. I stand right next to the coach with a water bottle in my hand (eagerly waiting to return to action).

"I play hard, something I was born with. If you don't play hard, at the end you lose. I'm very competitive and I hate to lose."

Asked about his lethal stiff arm, Wilder replied, "I have very long arms, an advantage that won't let them get to my body. They go down. I basically punch them with my open hand."

Weiner has such great confidence in Wilder's versatility that he says, "He might be the best player in Florida at any position except quarterback or kicker."

Meanwhile, Lemming peers down the road at the Florida State University recruit and says, "He's naturally strong, but once he gets into a college program, he's going to look like Ricky Williams. He could be great at either spot, but I like him at linebacker best. He makes plays everywhere and is a devastating tackler."