The Kids Are Alright

[HoosierCat]

Not every day I pull out the sports section of my local rag and find big pics of Stanley Wilson and Anthony Munoz on the cover. Good read...

http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?...71378059810.xml

Sons are rising in the NFL Draft

Sunday, April 17, 2005

BY MIKE GARAFOLO

Star-Ledger Staff

Stanley Wilson Jr. was devastated. He had traveled to Miami expecting to see his favorite team, the Cincinnati Bengals, win Super Bowl XXIII. Instead, he watched as Joe Montana capped a 92-yard drive with a touchdown pass to John Taylor, giving the San Francisco 49ers another miracle victory.

That was the worst part of his day. That his father, the Bengals' starting fullback, was mysteriously absent from the field didn't bother him as much. That's because, at 6 years old, the kid didn't completely understand the situation.

No one told young Stanley that his father had failed to attend a team meeting the night before the game because he had passed out in his hotel room, strung out on cocaine. A longtime addiction had seized him before the biggest game of his career. Late Saturday night, he escaped from the hotel, eluded team officials and went in search of liquor and more drugs.

His son was concerned, but not worried.

"When I think about it, I guess I was more upset that we lost the game than anything," Stanley Jr. said. "I knew my dad was going to be all right. As long as he was safe and still here, then I thought he was going to be okay."

Michael Munoz, then 7 years old and also in Miami that day, doesn't remember much about the game. The son of Bengals tackle Anthony Munoz can recall the sadness his father felt after the loss, however.

"I was more disappointed because my parents were," he said. "I get more upset about that game now when I see replays on ESPN Classic."

The two young boys went their separate ways after that day. One would remain close to the NFL and to his father. The other headed into an uncertain future with a father who would struggle with his addiction and eventually end up in jail.

Finally, they have been brought back to the same place.

Next weekend, Tennessee tackle Michael Munoz and Stanford cornerback Stanley Wilson Jr. -- two players with similar beginnings who took distinct paths -- will be selected in the NFL Draft. One will try to live up to his father's image. The other will try to erase it.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Eli Manning didn't became the No. 1 overall pick last year solely because of his ability. The success of his father Archie and brother Peyton added value to his stock. Some scouts suggested that if his last name wasn't Manning, he wouldn't have been so hotly pursued.

Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi, who engineered the draft-day trade that brought Manning to the Meadowlands instead of San Diego, said last week that prospects whose fathers played in the NFL have an inherent edge.

"When you grow up with something your whole life, you have a knowledge of what it takes," Accorsi said. "My father had a beer distributorship. I knew a lot about beer when I was 14 years old. That may sound stupid, but it's true. I did. Not that I drank it. I didn't. If you have a father who played in the league, he's just going to be able to make you so aware of (what to expect)."

Few second-generation players have benefited from their father's success as much as Michael Munoz. The 6-5, 306-pounder's NFL education dates to his early childhood, when he started making regular pregame visits to the Bengals' locker room and the playing field.

While his friends were having catches in their backyards, Munoz was running routes at Riverfront Stadium with lineman John Hannah's son. And, while many kids his age were pretending to be Howie Long, Munoz was frolicking in the longtime Raider's presence.

"Enjoy throwing that football around," Long told him, "because you'll have your hand on the ground once you start playing. You're going to be a lineman like your father."

Anthony Munoz is Stanley Wilson Sr.'s polar opposite: the Hall of Famer, the head of a charitable youth organization named in his honor and the model father who has eschewed full-time coaching to watch his son and his daughter Michelle, a forward for the Ohio State women's basketball team, finish their college careers.

As a co-founder of Integrity First Management, Anthony instructs several players each year who sign with the company. This year, his son is among a group of clients that includes West Virginia guard Jeff Berk, Nebraska guard Mike Erickson, Tennessee center Jason Respert and Oklahoma guard Wes Sims -- none of them schooled as thoroughly as Michael.

"I've had the opportunity to work with him since high school, not just on the physical but also the mental part, which is sometimes even more demanding," Anthony Munoz said.

"That's a huge advantage for a young man who's been around the game his entire life. Michael has been around it, everything from the Bengals camps to games to the locker rooms, the Pro Bowls, talking with other players around the league. He's had first-hand experience and has seen how guys are working and handling things."

Stanley Jr. never had such experiences. He has only vague memories of being in the locker room with his father and the rest of the Bengals. He didn't learn his NFL lessons first-hand. Instead, they were delivered sparingly. And they are still being taught daily via telephone from a state prison in Lancaster, Calif., where Stanley Sr. is serving a 22-year sentence for a 1999 burglary conviction -- his "third strike" under California law.

In the six years since he was sent to prison, Wilson Sr. has worked to mend his connections with his God, his family and himself.

"I'm more at peace with myself than I ever have been," he said in a phone interview yesterday. "My relationship with my father is one of the biggest things for me that has improved dramatically from my youth and from my adulthood. My relationships with my family and friends is what has helped carry me through. I didn't like the things that happened to me in the past, but for where it has taken me to, where I am on the inside, I don't regret anything."

The son has long since forgiven the sins of the father. And the link between the two Stanley Wilsons remains intact.

"A lot of times people think that because one person did something wrong, his family will abandon him," Wilson Sr. said. "But the family bond is one of the most important things as far as I'm concerned. He's always kept that intact. And he's never strayed away from loving and respecting his father, his mother and his grandparents."

Added Stanley Jr.: "I talk to my dad all the time. I've actually talked to him every day for the past few weeks. I feel like we talk more than most college kids talk to their parents. We have a really close relationship. And he's excited about this whole (draft) process. He's been telling me what to expect and what the coaches will be looking for."

BIRTHRIGHTS ... AND WRONGS

He says his name is Stanley Wilson and "you can call me Junior if you're trying to differentiate between me and my dad," he says. "But I never use it."

It's not only about eliminating the clumsiness in his name. It's also about restoring pride to it. His father's relapse forever linked the name Stanley Wilson to shame. Before the Falcons' Eugene Robinson was arrested on sex-solicitation charges in 1999 and Raiders center Barrett Robbins disappeared because of a bipolar incident in 2001, Wilson established the standard for Super Bowl meltdowns.

The Bengals' ninth-round pick in 1983, Wilson enjoyed a promising start to his career. He gained 4.8 yards per carry in his rookie season and three years later tied for the team lead with eight rushing touchdowns. In 1988, Wilson rushed for a career-high 398 yards and his blocking helped lead the Bengals to a team record 2,710 yards rushing and the Super Bowl.

"Even though we had James Brooks and Ickey Woods, you knew Stanley was a very important part of the running game," Anthony Munoz said. "Quite frankly, Stanley was probably the most talented of the group. So, emotionally, losing him was like a bomb had been dropped on our whole team."

Wilson never played another game after 1989. And his off-field troubles continued. But he never sheltered his son from the harsh truth of his tribulations.

"One thing that I've always done with him is I've always been honest," Wilson Sr. said. "I've always told him my situations and what I've done prior to the newspaper or anyone else telling him. I've always been honest with him and he's respected me for that."

Stanley Jr. was raised mostly in Carson, Calif., by his grandparents, except for a few years during which he lived with his mother in Boston while she was pursuing a degree from Harvard. Henry and Beverly Wilson provided the discipline and structure to keep him from falling into the same traps that had snared his father.

"I don't think my grandparents were the kind of people who would let me fall by the wayside," Stanley Jr. said. "After raising two sons -- my dad and my uncle -- going through it the second time, you learn from your mistakes. You make the corrections and see where sometimes you can make changes and improvements."

This time, by all accounts, Henry and Beverly got it right.

"He's a great person," former Stanford defensive coordinator A.J. Christoff said. "He wasn't only a great athlete -- he ran a 10.5 in the 100 meters in his junior year -- but he was also on the student council at Stanford and was really well-respected by the other students on campus. He was active in all the political issues on campus. Being able to accomplish as much as he did academically, athletically and socially really tells you a lot about him."

Thanks to a 4.36 in the 40-yard dash at the combine and tremendous athletic ability, the 5-11, 185-pound Wilson is expected to be picked by end of the third round Saturday.

Two NFC front-office members and one coach said last week they have given Wilson glowing reviews, on and off the field. He visited the Jets and said he wouldn't mind playing for them because it would bring him closer to his mother, who is pursuing a Ph.D. at NYU.

"Being around family is definitely a plus," he said. Wherever he goes, his father will not be able to follow. Because of the distance, the face-to-face visits will become more infrequent. But Stanley Sr. said he only wants what's best for his son.

"My desire is for him to go somewhere where he can be with a really good defensive coach who will refine what I think he can really become," he said.

"I really don't care where that is."

Michael Munoz's father will always be close by. The hulking shadow of Anthony's Hall of Fame career figures to stalk him as well. But Michael is content to follow his own path -- one his father has helped him find.

"There are a lot of things players struggle with, getting in trouble and things like that," he said. "Having somebody who's done it the right way and has taught me, that's something that's going to help me more than I know right now."

[bengalindian]

I am about as old as Stanley Jr. and Michael, and I don't remember that whole situation very well. However, that was a great article.

[jjakq27]

Good stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if the Bengals nabbed Munoz in the third round.