Duke Football: Shaun Wilson made NFL debut as Bucs’ kick returner

Former Duke football running back Shaun Wilson made his NFL debut on Sunday as the Tampa Bay Buccaneer’s starting kick returner.

The day that I watched Shaun Wilson scurry for 245 yards and three touchdowns against Kansas during just his third game as a Blue Devil — it was Sept. 13, 2014 — I remember thinking that I may have just witnessed a true freshman running back who could one day become the greatest NFL player to have ever played for the Duke football program.

Considering the opponent that day ended up with a 3-9 record for that season, my expectations for Wilson were probably a bit of a stretch.

Also, I probably owe an apology to Sonny Jurgensen — a former star quarterback for the Blue Devils, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Redskins from way before my time — for not taking into account his wealth of NFL accomplishments that day.

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And although Wilson had a successful four-year stint in Durham, his career numbers did not exactly match what I had envisioned for him that day in Wallace Wade Stadium as he left Jayhawk defenders looking like they had just watched a new episode of The Flash.

However, the 5-foot-9, 185-pound native of Charlotte, N.C., did surpass 2,400 rushing yards as a Blue Devil while averaging more than five yards per attempt (he also caught a total of 81 passes for 725 yards).

So it was no surprise when Tampa Bay took a shot on the undrafted Wilson by offering him a deal to compete for kick-returning duties in 2018.

And it was no surprise to me to see Wilson beat out the competition by becoming the team’s leading returner during the preseason — he averaged 26.5 yards on six returns after missing the first preseason game — and earning the starting nod for the Bucs’ season opener.

During Tampa Bay’s 48-40 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Wilson only decided to bring the football out of the end zone on one kick return (he scampered out to the 29-yard line). He also had one rushing attempt for six yards.

While it wasn’t much, it was a start.

And although Wilson’s first game may not be the start of a Jurgensen-like career, the former Dukie speedster’s future in the NFL will continue to attract the full attention of this Dukie (who still thinks of him with high expectations).