Hillsborough County has been fortunate to witness the maturation process of an exponential amount of outstanding athletes in so many sports throughout the decades. A number of student athletes have continued their education by signing college athletic scholarships which will enable them to play the sport they love for a few more years. Some completed their journey’s while others did not, but one thing is for certain. There’s a couple that clearly have left their impression within the mystique of prep football in the ‘Borough.
If I sat long enough and looked over my records, I could come up with a long list of players who were dynamic football players and made an impact each and every Friday night. However, two young men will be mentioned for a long time as players who were simply dominating the gridiron in Tampa Bay.
Orson Charles and James Wilder Jr. are two of the preeminent high school football players this area has seen. High praise when considering the amount of talent throughout the years; players like Kalvin Bailey, Jarred Fayson and Aaron Murray (in recent years), just to name a few. Charles and Wilder were overpowering figures. Both towered over 6’3″ and weighed over 220lbs as high school seniors. Without clocking them, they were 4.5 (40 yard dash) guys with balance, grace, power and skill. So how do they compare? [See Debate Here]
For starters, Both Orson Charles and James Wilder were Plant High graduates who transferred from a school where they were already “The Man”! Charles was primarily used as a TE in a double TE, double wing/option-oriented offense. He was a blocker that ran routes on obvious passing downs. Wilder was a defensive stud a Chamberlain totaling double digit sacks as a sophomore and over 100 total tackles.
There is one major difference I think in terms of their on the field play. On defense, James was a little more disruptive than Charles. Don’t get me wrong, Orson was a force, but James had a slight edge in the number of game breaking plays he generated over 2 years. “James was an absolute wrecking crew; a terror”, said Plant Head Football Coach, Robert Weiner. Time and time again Wilder chased down a running back like a jaguar on a fawn, smashed a QB like a mack truck or blew up the whole play in the backfield like a Mission Impossible scene. If you were game planning against Plant’s defense, first player you locate is #32. Orson was a 2way player before arriving at Plant and James become a 2way nightmare after becoming a Panther.
“Orson’s defensive play was underrated” coach Weiner tells me. “He was a terror off that edge (OLB/DE). To be able to move the way he did and make as many plays as he did, was incredible.”
As Coach Weiner describes Charles, he was the ultimate mismatch. He gave defenses fits because Plant had the ability to line him up as a traditional TE or split him out like a wide receiver. Either way he made opposing secondaries pay. As I try to think of the difference between Charles and Wilder, I am more drawn to thinking about their similarities. On defense, they both were very productive players and the numbers don’t lie. On offense Orson was as much of a game breaker on offense as Wilder was, if not bigger. Moments in 2008 versus Hillsborough, Armwood, Lincoln, Southeast, etc. come to mind.
In 2008 Scout.com rated Charles a Five-Star prospect, the #1 TE in Florida (while being listed as the #3 TE nationally) and as the #45 overall prospect in the nation. As a senior he recorded 75 catches for 1440 yards and 21 TDs. Orson also posted 27 tackles, 7 sacks, and 3 TDs on fumble recoveries at defensive end. In the biggest game of his high school career, Charles had six catches for 132 yards and two TDs leading Plant High School to the Florida 4A State Championship. Big difference compared to his junior season at Riverview; in 2007 had 12 receptions for 400 yards and 3 TDs.
Not to be outdone, James Wilder was half man and half amazing. Totaled 1613 yards and 22td as a senior. As a junior, Wilder was the driving force behind Plant’s first 5A state title. Ran for 1,004 yards (7.49 per carry) and 15 TDs. Registered a stunning 136 tackles (66 solo) and 19 sacks on defense. Amazingly as a sophomore, Wilder was posted 145 total tackles with 62 solo and 15 sacks.
When it comes to athleticism, it’s apples to oranges. Wilder probably had the more eye-popping plays on BCP Highlights and YouTube. But, Orson’s plays in big games (Ex: Armwood) were eye popping also. Both guys had a strong will to win and REFUSED to let their team lose. Coach Weiner describes both players as “Football guys.” They talk the game of football and are great teammates.
Sometimes we forget that these punishing forces on the football field are just kids. “James was always smiles. He was that guy that everybody wanted to hangout with outside of football,” said coach Weiner. “Orson on the other hand was a man on a mission. He always had this serious look on his face 24 hours a day. He is a gamer and a ‘take over’ guy”. With all the attention these two players received, coach Weiner says they handled all the media attention well.
“Orson embraced it, while I think at the end, it wore James down some”. Weiner said that Wilder took the brunt of it from what Charles and Murray initiated. Coach gave his staff credit for helping the players manage it in a professional manner though. This is where it’s most important to realize that they’re young men dealing with overnight celebrity status due to the effect the new forms of media have had on this aspect of high school sports.
Orson Charles and James Wilder Jr., will always be know as two of the best “Gamers” to play in Tampa Bay. Though we have grown to expect great thing form both these youngmen, we can’t dismiss the fact that they are still kids and should not have to bear the burden of a college program savior.
Wilder 2009 Hilites and Wilder 2010 Hilites plus All Tampa Bay Prospect Hilites