Florida State University Athletics
‘We’ve Been Doing This Ever Since High School’: Terry, Wilson Team Up Again In Win Over NC State
9/29/2019 4:56:43 PM | Football
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – There was a bit of a throwback vibe inside Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday – an evening kickoff, an overmatched opponent and a lopsided victory for the home team.
All the while, a pair of Florida State receivers were reliving some good old days of their own.
A few years ago, cousins Tamorrion Terry and Ontaria Wilson were teaming up at Turner County High in Ashburn, Ga., a school of about 400 students in a town of about 3,800 residents.
Fast-forward a bit, and the two have stepped into a much bigger spotlight. Each had a big hand in Florida State’s 31-13 victory over North Carolina State – Terry with five catches, 77 yards and two touchdowns, and Wilson with four grabs for 91 yards and a score of his own.
“That’s how it used to be in high school,” Wilson said with a broad grin. “Touchdown me, touchdown him. Going back to the old days.”
Indeed, the two racked up plenty of them at Turner County. Terry had 19 as a senior, and Wilson, a former defensive back, scored seven times either via interception or kick return.
Both won area player of the year honors, Terry on offense and Wilson on defense.
And while Terry has found the end zone plenty since arriving in Tallahassee three years ago – Saturday’s pair marked the 11th and 12th of his career – Wilson on Saturday crossed the goal line for the very first time.
He made sure it was a memorable one, too – a slant and go in which Wilson shook his defender and caught a pretty rainbow of a pass from quarterback Alex Hornibrook down the left sideline.
“I knew I had (the defender) beat on the route in the first place,” Wilson said. “After I went on the slant and went, it was over with after that. The touchdown was easy and the crowd just went crazy.”
They weren’t the only ones.
“I loved that,” said Terry, who was on the sideline at the time. “Once I saw the ball in the air, I thought I was fixing to get a flag because I ran on the field.
“I was so happy for my cousin. He just caught the ball and he was very happy. That was just something I loved to see.”
Terry did his part, too, first with a 43-yard catch and run that reclaimed the lead for FSU after a second-quarter deficit, and later with a jump ball in the middle of the end zone in which the 6-foot-4 receiver went up and snatched the ball away from his defender.
That last one gave the Seminoles a 24-6 advantage.
“You’ve got to play big,” Terrry said of the play. “You’ve got to be the one who wants it more, and I wanted it more.”
For Wilson, Saturday night marked the culmination of a difficult decision and a challenging path to the field.
He arrived at FSU intending to play his native cornerback, but a crowded depth chart in the Seminoles’ secondary prompted a switch to receiver prior to the 2018 season.
Wilson wasn’t sure about the move at first, and he finished with only four catches and 35 yards a year ago.
But head coach Willie Taggart said that Wilson never pouted or complained about his status and instead committed himself to working at his new craft.
“He’s one of those guys that just works,” Taggart said. “He doesn’t ask for anything. Just goes out and does whatever you ask him to do and makes plays.”
By fall camp in August, Wilson had improved to the point where he consistently took reps with the first- and second-team offenses.
And, a few weeks later, he was rewarded with a spot in the Seminoles’ starting lineup.
“We saw that throughout training camp,” Taggart said, “and just knew it was a matter of time before he showed that throughout a game. It was great for him to have that game today.”
Wilson has held his place in the starting lineup throughout the entire season and, after Saturday, has the third-most catches and receiving yards among FSU’s receivers.
“I’m proud of that man,” FSU safety Cyrus Fagan said. “It’s difficult to come to a school to play DB, grow up playing DB, and come to a school and say, I’m going to play receiver at the college level.’
“He transferred to receiver and now he’s doing his thing.”
Same as he and Terry used to do on Friday nights in Ashburn.
“That’s big,” Terry said. “Not too many people can say they did that. For us to do that, (it means a lot) for us to do something for our town and show everybody that it’s a small town but we’re out here grinding and we’re just doing what we do best.
“We’ve been doing this ever since high school. It’s just a blessing to be out here playing for Florida State and us making big plays for them.”