‘IT’S IN HIS DNA’

LAS VEGAS – He’s not a fan of the limelight.

He doesn’t love media sessions or posing for photos.

He just wants to play football.

That is Logan Wilson in a nutshell.

The Casper product enters his senior season with all the accolades of a player who has 316 tackles, 26 tackles for loss and six interceptions under his belt. He’s been named to a couple of award watch lists – the Bednarik and the Butkus. The first one is given to the best defensive player in the country. The other goes to the top linebacker.

They are nice honors. Even Wilson will admit that. But when he wasn’t named to the preseason All-Mountain West first team by regional reporters this week, let’s just say he didn’t lose any sleep.

“I am all about team success,” Wilson said Wednesday morning inside the Green Valley Ranch Resort where Mountain West Conference Media Days was held over the past two days. “I wouldn’t say this is uncomfortable, I’m just ready to play.”

Wilson might not want to talk about himself, but his peers had plenty to say. So did his coach.

He’s getting attention whether he likes it or not.

Craig Bohl laughed when a reporter asked him about recruiting Wilson out of Natrona County High School. Wilson claims he knew one day he would be a linebacker at UW despite being a prep defensive back.

Indeed, Bohl did want No. 30 to bulk up.

So, that’s what he did, going from 190 pounds as a redshirt freshman to the 250-pound defensive terror he is today.

“None of this stuff happened by chance,” Wilson said, crediting his parents and coaches for helping him develop a relentless work ethic. “I put in a lot of work to be in this position I am in right now.

“And I still have a lot of work to do.”

That’s bad news for the Mountain West Conference.

And no one doubts him.

Kyahva Tezino, San Diego State’s stud linebacker, who is also on the same watch lists as Wilson, said he loves watching players who “respect the position.”

Though they have never met, Tezino feels like he knows him.

“We haven’t played Wyoming in two years, but we follow each other on Instagram,” Tezino said Tuesday. “I know he’s a great linebacker and a good guy. He comments on my pictures and stuff, so I know he’s a great guy. Not many guys would do that.

“Since he was a freshman, he has been an outstanding player. I can’t wait to play against him this year.”

Nevada linebacker, Lucas Weber, said he’s not concerned about making preseason lists, either. It’s not where you start, but where you finish, he said. And as a freshman, he was "finished" by Wilson too many times to count.

“Back when I played him, I was a running back at the time,” Weber laughed, widening his eyes. “He's a very talented player. He does a great job over there.”

Josh Love certainly remembers eyeing No. 30 in the Wyoming linebacking corps. Last November, Love’s San Jose Spartans played in Laramie. It was snowing. It was windy. It was like nothing many on their roster have ever seen before let alone played in.

“Oh yeah – stud,” Love said of Wilson. “That Wyoming defense has some dudes. Getting hit by those guys was crazy.”

Steve Harshman coached Wilson at NC. The intangibles are there, the work habits are obvious, and the talent speaks for itself, Harshman summarized. But, what a lot of people don’t know, he said, is Wilson has been in the weight room and at football camps since he was in fifth grade.

Football became an obsession.

It shows, Harshman added.

“It’s really cool to watch him play,” said Harshman, whose son, Josh Harshman, is a senior tight end for the Cowboys. “He’s really deserving of all the good things that have happened to him. He’s a pretty serious guy. He’s a good teammate and all that stuff. It’s satisfying to see the hard work pay off.

“It’s in his DNA.”