It’s Better to Receive : Wilson Makes His Move and Career Takes Turn for Better

For the past six seasons, he has been the San Francisco 49ers’ other receiver. And because he was playing behind such NFL stars as Dwight Clark, Freddie Solomon and, more recently, Jerry Rice, Mike Wilson couldn’t even find reason to gripe.

But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t frustrating.

“I mainly came in on third-down passing situations and for a play or two if one of those guys got tired,” Wilson said. “It was tough because I always felt that, if given the opportunity, my talent would speak for itself.”

In one play Sunday, it spoke volumes. Rice may have the ability to inspire awe on every play, but Wilson, who was an All-American at Carson High School, may have come up with the highlight of the 49ers’ 1987 highlight film.

Midway through the second quarter, the 49ers faced second and eight on the Rams’ 17-yard line. Wilson went in motion and ran a short curl pattern. Quarterback Joe Montana connected with him at the nine-yard line and Ram cornerback Mickey Sutton closed in from behind.

A nicely executed pass play for a first down, right?

Not exactly.

Wilson started to turn inside toward Sutton, then suddenly reverse-pivoted and spun away toward the sideline as Sutton tackled an armful of air. Four other Rams fell over each other in pursuit as Wilson pranced untouched into the end zone.

Ray Wersching’s conversion gave the 49ers a 17-3 lead and they never lost momentum, rolling to a 31-10 victory. Wilson had four more catches, including a 23-yarder, and finished with 91 yards.

“It was just instinctive,” Wilson said, explaining the move. “I started to turn in and saw a bunch of Ram jerseys and figured I didn’t want to deal with those guys. I spun the other way and expected the cornerback to be waiting for me, but Jerry (Rice) gave me a good block and there was no one there. I was shocked.”

Not too shocked to sprint by the pursuit and into the end zone, however.

“You’ve got to give all the credit to Mike,” Rice said, smiling. “Hey, I stuck my head in there, but he made a classic move. All the pursuit was coming from the inside and I was able to make some guys jump away and he was able to get into the end zone.”

Last year, Rice had 1,570 receiving yards, the third-highest season total in NFL history. He had 971 yards as a rookie in 1985 when he walked into camp and was handed a starting position, a spot on the depth chart that Wilson had been laboring to earn for four years.

Rice never got anything but help from Wilson, though.

“I feel really good for him,” Rice said. “When I first came into the league and had a bad day, he told me to keep my head up. He always helped me. It’s no fun being triple-teamed, but if I have to be a decoy for him and we win, that’s fine with me.”

You won’t hear Wilson complaining about a lack of respect. He’s finally a starter--having beat out veteran Clark for the wide receiver position--and that’s all he ever wanted.

“I’ve been a back-up for six years,” he said. “It’s hard to explain just how good this feels.”

A year ago, Wilson was lying on the grass at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., not feeling good at all. He had injured his neck and doctors were immobilizing it before removing him from the field via stretcher and golf cart.

“I wasn’t numb and could move everything, so I wasn’t that worried,” Wilson said. “Then, when the X-rays they took there were fuzzy and cloudy, I got a little more concerned because it was really sore. But after taking more pictures back in San Francisco, it was diagnosed as a severe sprain.”

Wilson sat out the rest of the season as a precaution, but he was raring to go when camp opened this season.

“There were times in my fourth and fifth year when I wondered if I’d ever get the opportunity to play on a regular basis,” he said. “This is a dream come true.”

It seemed more like a nightmare when he dropped two key passes in the fourth quarter of the 49ers’ opener, a 30-17 loss at Pittsburgh.

“I think that game was a turning point in my career,” Wilson said. “When you only come in for one play here and there, it’s easy to concentrate. That game taught me I had to maintain my intensity from the first snap to the last.”

The Rams certainly didn’t notice any lapses.

Quarterback Joe Montana said Sunday’s emphasis on Wilson and tight end Russ Francis (who had 6 catches for 65 yards) was merely a case of “taking what they gave us.” The Rams’ zone defense rolled in Rice’s direction all afternoon.

“It’s great having Jerry over there,” Wilson said. “They left me with one-on-one coverage on every snap. Our offense is diversified enough that if they’re gonna sit on one guy, we’ll make them pay.”

A few more moves like the one he put on the Rams Sunday and Wilson may find defenses are “sitting” on him. If they can guess which way he’s going to spin, that is.