Cardinals rookie Michael Wilson mentored by former NFL receivers Houshmandzadeh, Baldwin

Michael Wilson had injury issues at Stanford that hindered his production over five years there. A foot injury from 2020 lingered well into 2021 and limited the wide receiver's action, so he hoped for a bounce-back season in his final college campaign.

Things started well, but all of his plans for a big 2022 were derailed when Wilson heard his collarbone crack while being tackled after a catch in a game against Notre Dame last October.

"Another uncontrollable injury, which is very, very tough because you put so much in the game. It's like, it can be taken away just off something so freaky," Wilson said.

Wilson had a couple of options. Hope for an invitation to the Senior Bowl, or without that then consider a sixth year at Stanford. The Senior Bowl invite came, and when his collarbone had healed in early December, he was able to resume upper body workouts and squats to get ready for the college showcase.

"So took December and January, very, very seriously. Just put my head down and grind. And then going into the Senior Bowl, it was like a Super Bowl type of moment. Like I can't let this opportunity slip through my fingers because I know what it can do for me," Wilson said. "As you're looking at the X's and O's and the lineups of what guys produced in college, I was probably the guy that was the outlier. Why did this guy get an invite by having 418 yards and four touchdowns my senior year, right? Those are very underwhelming stats. And so I wanted to prove to guys and prove to everyone why I deserve to be here."

He put together a strong Senior Bowl, and the Cardinals made Wilson the 94th overall pick in April's draft. On Sunday, Wilson finished up the Cardinals' weekend rookie mini-camp.

"I think the biggest thing I'm looking forward to doing and putting the emphasis on is just earning the respect of my teammates and earning the respect of the locker room. I think that's the most important thing, coming in with an open mind just trying to be a sponge to guys who have been successful in the league," Wilson said. "And so just being really deliberate and intentional with everything I do, and making sure I can leave a good first impression on the guys in the receiver room, the quarterbacks, the running back room and coaching staff just do my best just to earn the respect of everybody in the building and kind of stamp why I deserve to be here."

Wilson has the size and speed to perhaps make an impact on the Cardinals' offense. He knows he will have to earn whatever role he is given, but he comes to Arizona with a couple of former productive NFL receivers in his corner, fellow Stanford alum and former Seattle Seahawks star Doug Baldwin and former Cincinnati Bengals and Seahawks receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who played 11 pro seasons, led the NFL in catches with 112 in 2007 and made a Pro Bowl.

Houshmandzadeh worked extensively with Wilson, training the rookie since 2020. Wilson said Houshmandzadeh believed in him and mentored him.

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"Having someone who's been one of the best receivers in the game believe in me, as a sophomore, as a young man, that means the world to me," Wilson said. "And even going through all the injuries, going through the ups and downs and facing the adversity, being on losing teams, not having great games, he always would continually say to me 'Mike's the best receiver in college football that no one knows about.'"

Houshmandzadeh posted those words on Instagram in 2020, vouching for his protege, telling followers that Wilson would surprise a lot of people. So one of Wilson's goals is to prove his mentor right for putting his reputation on the line in support of Wilson when he was unproven.

Baldwin was one of Wilson's idols as a young receiver, as Wilson dreamed of going to Stanford since he was 10 years old. In 2015, Wilson was watching when Baldwin and former NFL great Deion Sanders went head-to-head in a debate of sorts on TV during Super Bowl week that year.

"Prime Time (Sanders) had called him a pedestrian receiver. But the way he attacked that argument with so much analytics, he was so articulate, and I was in middle school at the time. I'm like 'Man, I want to be able to carry myself like he does, being a great competitor but also being to articulate myself in a way that's very respectable to the media and to people watching," Wilson said.

At an event for Stanford football alumni last spring, Wilson met Baldwin, and the two ended up talking for hours about Baldwin's Stanford experience, NFL experience, his growth as a person and what a Stanford degree can do for someone after football.

"He's always a phone call or text away," Wilson said.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals rookie Michael Wilson being mentored by two ex-NFL stars