Frank Wilson

As a wunderkind coach- he'd been named head coach at the age of 27- Wilson had transformed hardscrabble O. Perry Walker High's football program in New Orleans into one of the state's great success stories.  He instituted mandatory study halls and pre-school breakfasts.  Players had to wear dress shirts and ties every day.  They had to sit in the front row of the classroom.  Wilson arranged for an academic counselor, who got paid through a grant funded by the NFL's Play It Smart program.  In one year, the team's GPA jumped from 1.5 to 2.5.  The team also gave John Curtis Christian its first district loss in 25 years.  By his third season, Wilson had the school playing in the state title game.

"Frank Wilson made all those kids believe that they could excel in football, the classroom, and as leaders," Louisiana state senator Francis Heitmeir said after Wilson's departure for Oxford.  "It was just remarkable what he did."

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