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		Stint at City College proved to be pivotal for San Jose’s Wilson By Jeremy Harness August 2, 2008

	NAPA - Gibril Wilson has made a big splash in training camp with his new team, already becoming a leader of a Raiders defense that has been in search of a leader since Warren Sapp’s retirement at the end of last season. Oakland snatched the 26-year-old strong safety away from the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants to help shore up a notoriously-porous run defense that has ranked among the NFL’s worst for the past few years, but he has shown to provide more than that. “Gibril’s doing extremely well,” Raiders coach Lane Kiffin said. “He brings a physical attitude to our defense. I like the leadership that he’s taking in the huddle on defense. One of the reasons I go through that huddle a lot is to hear what's going on, and I think he’s kind of become the vocal leader of our defense right now.” For Wilson, it’s a new team but a familiar area. After migrating from the West African country of Sierra Leone at the age of 5, his family settled down in San Jose and was eager to reconnect with old friends after the Raiders signed him to a six-year, $39 million deal in February. “It’s kind of fun being back (here), getting to see my old coaches and my old friends,” Wilson said of his return to his native area. However, Wilson’s path to the big time was slightly different than the one taken by most NFL stars. Wilson wasn’t exactly a blue-chip recruit coming out of high school. After starring at San Jose’s Oak Grove High, he spent the next two years at City College of San Francisco, where he became the country’s top recruited safety while winning two state championships both years. “That was probably the best time I ever had in football, being around those guys,” he said of his experience at City College. “Some of my best friends are still from that team. I learned a lot from being at City. It was a great experience for me.” After being overlooked after finishing his high-school career, those two years proved to be crucial in his progression as a football player. From there, he went on to the University of Tennessee before being selected in the fifth round in 2004 by the Giants, where he was the starting strong safety for the past three years and won a Super Bowl ring last season. For all of his success, Wilson said he knows “for a fact” that he wouldn’t have gotten to the next level had it not for his City College years. “Being around those guys and being around that kind of competition every day, in and out, just made me a better player. The competition that was over there was great.” As for the Raiders, his addition has given a new dimension to a run defense that has ranked among the NFL’s worst for the past few years. Strictly a man-to-man scheme since coordinator Rob Ryan first took charge in 2004, the Raiders have done more blitzing in camp, something they had not previously done. The move has also allowed the Raiders to move Michael Huff, who struggled in his first two NFL seasons as a strong safety, to take the departed Stuart Schweigert’s spot at free safety. While neither Schweigert, who is now a member of the Washington Redskins, nor Huff are known for their tackling, Wilson is considered one of the better tacklers in the game. “We’re not very complicated in what we do in our base defense, and he does not have to do very much,” Kiffin said. “He’s down in the box probably 90 percent of the time. He’s doing real well with it, and I really like the attitude he’s bringing to our team.” Said cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha: “He’s a real physical guy. He likes to get up in the box and hit people, so that’s one of the main reasons that we brought him in here.” For now, as is the case with just about every player in their first training camp with his new team, Wilson is still working on the intricacies of the defense as well as the personnel involved in the scheme. “I’m still trying to get stuff done, knowing where my linebackers are, where the defensive line is. (As a) player, I try to figure out where everybody’s at, and that’s what I’m trying to do. “I’m going as fast as I can, because Monday night (Sept. 8 against) Denver, I can’t be thinking.”