I like me

This story appears in the October 3, 2011 issue of ESPN The Magazine.

"YEAH, IT'S A BIT, UM ... "

David Wilson is trying to describe the list of five goals he keeps taped up in his locker. The thing is, the 5'10", 205-pound Virginia Tech junior doesn't want to give the wrong impression. "Well, when I put that list together, it wasn't to be ..."

It's the kind of checklist that can only be written by a man desirous of a grander personal narrative. By a man who has spent two seasons fighting for carries behind a trio of runners -- QB Tyrod Taylor and tailbacks Ryan Williams and Darren Evans. By a man who has shown flashes of brilliance, particularly on kick returns, only to be sent back to the sidelines. But now the Hokies are Wilson's team. And his taped-to-his-locker manifesto reflects the mood of a program that is itself on the brink of a breakout season.

"Yes, sir," he politely continues. "My individual goals are kind of up there. But I don't want you to think they're too ..."

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Ryan McGee | email

ESPN The Magazine, NASCAR

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• ESPN The Magazine senior writer
• 2-time Sports Emmy winner
• 2010 NMPA Writer of the Year