Garnell Wilds has the longest hair of any player in Redskins' training camp. And he also faces some of the longest odds at making the team's 53-man roster.
The hair: cornrows up top, dreadlocks down to his shoulders. His last haircut was four years ago.
"He has that long, Milli Vanilli hair," Fred Smoot said.
The odds: An undrafted free agent cornerback from Virginia Tech, Wilds is coming back from a knee injury and is trying to make the Redskins as a reserve corner and special-teams player.
"I've proven to myself that I can play in this league," Wilds said after Friday's morning practice at Redskins Park. "Now I have to prove it to these coaches. I just want an opportunity, be it here or on another team."
Wilds' first chance to make an impression comes Monday when the Redskins play Denver. The Redskins play four exhibitions before the first mandatory cutdown date on Aug. 31.
On the unofficial depth chart, Wilds is listed as the No. 3 left cornerback behind Shawn Springs and Rashad Bauman. Teams generally keep no more than five cornerbacks on the active roster. Springs and Smoot are the starters. That leaves Wilds to compete with Bauman, Brown, Walt Harris, Ade Jimoh, Rufus Brown and Michael Hall for the remaining three spots.
"He's done a great job," assistant head coach-defense Gregg Williams said of Wilds. "He has taken advantage of every snap and he's studied hard. To make this team as a fifth or sixth corner, he has to be a starter on the special teams, and that was one of the reasons we identified him."
That Wilds is in camp is impressive, considering he had two knee injuries during his Tech career.
Wilds started Tech's first six games last year, recording 31 tackles and one interception. But his season ended when he tore cartilage in his left knee days before the West Virginia game. Before surgery, Wilds was told there was a chance he could return.
It was his second knee injury. In 2000, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in the same knee. He rebounded from that setback to play 31 games over the next three years. His five interceptions in 2002 led the Big East.
As Virginia Tech's 2003 season came undone, Wilds was left to watch from the sideline.
"You can't blame the coaches," he said. "As a team, we fell apart during the last two seasons, be it because of injuries or a lack of chemistry."
Entering his senior year, Wilds thought a good season would make him a Day 2 draft pick. After the injury, his rehabilitation goal was to be recovered soon enough to run and work out for NFL scouts. On March 19, he ran a 4.59-second 40-yard dash.
"It wasn't as fast as it needed to be, but I was just happy I was able to run and put down a time," he said.
Before signing with the Redskins a day after the draft, Wilds talked to Kansas City and Indianapolis. His best chance is to impress Washington's special-teams coach Danny Smith.
"There's a lot of learning going on," Wilds said. "I'm trying to get better as a defensive back and, at the same time, focus on special teams because that's my way to get on the team."
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