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No surprise to 'Central Cali'PULLMAN, Sep 24, 2010 (The Lewiston Morning Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Marquess Wilson grew up on the outskirts of a central California town devoted largely to agriculture, and he was raised amid what his stepfather calls "kind of a minority Brady Bunch, I guess you could say." So his rapid adjustment to rural, quick-smiling Pullman is perhaps not surprising. But his rapid adjustment to major-college football is another matter. Boyishly thin and barely a week into his 18th year, the true freshman receiver has nonetheless restored a deep threat to Washington State's long-languishing passing game, and he has done so in record time. Three weeks into the season, the 6-foot-3, 173-pound rookie has already twice topped 100 yards in receptions for a game, making him the second freshman in school history to muster more than one such performance. If he notches another, he will match Philip Bobo's freshman record from 1990. The Cougars (1-2) enter Pac-10 play at Martin Stadium at noon Saturday against 20th-ranked USC (3-0). Paying close attention to Wilson's adventures in Pullman are his friends, relatives and coaches back in his hometown of Tulare, Calif., who aren't surprised by his 13 catches, 281 yards and two touchdowns, but are pleased and amused by how quickly he has compiled them. A town of 56,000 in the heart of one of the prime dairy-producing areas in the country, Tulare (tu-LAIR-ee) has also produced its share of accomplished athletes, most notably two-time Olympic decathlon champion Bob Mathias. But Marquess (mar-KEECE) Wilson ranks among the top five athletes ever at Tulare Union High, according to boys' basketball coach Mark Hatton, who for years has been watching the kid effortlessly excel at football, basketball and other sports. His track bests, for example, include a 10.8 time for 100 meters and a 6-foot-8 clearance in the high jump. Wilson, whose biological father lives in Mississippi, was raised by his mother and stepfather in an area called the Villa, a few miles east of Tulare, in a diverse household that included the three children of Donna Jackson, a purchaser for a hardware store, and Richard Miranda, a teacher's aide and basketball coach. Jackson is black, and Miranda is Hispanic and American Indian. The six children "are all about the same age -- a few years' difference, and we raised all our kids together," Miranda said by phone this week. "We've got a small three-bedroom home -- we converted the den to our bedroom, so all the girls could be in one room and all the boys in another. We made it work, though." Miranda, who coaches girls' basketball at a small high school, has taken note of his stepson's athleticism for years, and he expected a crush of college recruiters during the boy's prep years. It indeed came, but Pac-10 teams didn't pay quite as much attention as he expected. Wilson considered offers from Arizona State of the Pac-10 and nearby Fresno State of the Western Athletic Conference, but committed to WSU after a campus visit on the first weekend of September 2009. His host on the trip was now-starting quarterback Jeff Tuel, who prepped at Clovis West, less than 50 miles north of Tulare. Hatton, who had a good vantage point of the recruiting process, said Wilson was struck not only by Pullman's affinities with Tulare ("I think he was just looking for a place where everybody knew each other's name"), but by the persistence of Washington State recruiters, headed by offensive coordinator Todd Sturdy. "I'm going to be honest with you," he said, "I think that staff just outworked everybody. The offensive coordinator in particular really showed an interest from the get-go. That went a long way with Marquess." Once the oral commitment was announced, University of Miami recruiters swooped into the scene, attending four or five of Hatton's basketball practices, the coach said. The University of Washington also got involved late, Cougars coach Paul Wulff said Thursday. But Wilson held firm. His family has a touch of history with Washington State. A maternal cousin is Ronnie Lee, a former WSU teammate of Wulff's who grew up in Tulare and is now co-defensive coordinator at the University of Minnesota. When Wilson chose the Cougars, Lee phoned the family and expressed his approval, Miranda said. Wulff, now 4-25 as Cougars coach but convinced his raw talent level is finally up to Pac-10 standards, doesn't seem bothered by the fact that several Pac-10 schools -- and Minnesota, for that matter -- chose not to recruit Wilson. "I think that's what we have to do here," he said. "We've got to recruit kids like that, that we think highly of ... and not get too caught up in how many scholarship offers he has from other Pac-10 schools." During a post-practice interview with Wilson this week, Sturdy hovered nearby for a few moments, beaming almost paternally as he jokingly warned Wilson not to give USC any bulletin-board material. But Wilson, described by friends as gregarious, has been holding his cards close to the vest while seemingly sizing up the Pullman-area media. "I don't say too much," he reassured the coach. His play on the football field has been expressive enough, and his knack for downfield catches fills a WSU void that has been glaring since former deep threat Jeshua Anderson quit the team to concentrate on his track career last September. Tuel, a sophomore who has now made eight starts, has connected with Wilson four times for 40-plus yards. None of this is lost on "Central Cali." "You've got a bunch of Washington State fans in Tulare," Hatton said. "I'll tell you that." NOTES -- The Cougars' other standout true freshman receiver, Kristoff Williams, moved closer to redshirt status this week with his continued battle with turf toe. Also out for another week is offensive lineman Tyson Pencer (groin). But the Cougars hope to have several other recent injury victims, including tailback Chantz Staden, safety Chima Nwachukwu and defensive tackle Bernard Wolfgramm. Grummert may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 848-2290. To see more of The Lewiston Morning Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.lmtribune.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Lewiston Morning Tribune, Idaho Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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