UK’s new commit made ‘the best burger in the world’ between shifts as a pro athlete
Kentucky’s newest football commit grills a mean cheeseburger. The best on planet Earth, in fact, to hear him tell it.
That’s one of several personal traits that make Wilson Berry, who announced his commitment to UK on Monday, distinct from the 10 other athletes who’ve committed to the Wildcats as part of their 2021 recruiting class.
He’s 22, a punter and will have the longest flight of any player who enrolls next year after landing in America by way of Australia. Like Max Duffy — the current Aussie punter on Kentucky’s roster — he spent time playing Australian rules football before linking up with Prokick Australia, an organization that trains individuals for a career in the stateside version of the game.
Trying to prevent goals being scored and putting points on the board himself — there’s a great celebration video from a game in which he scored two goals last season — was something of a side gig; Berry’s main employer the last three years has been Grill’d, a fast-food burger chain based in Melbourne.
One of their signature burgers, “The Mighty Melbourne,” allegedly can’t be topped.
“It is, I like to say, the best burger in the world,” Berry told the Herald-Leader over a Zoom call this week. “I’m prepared to take it all the way to Lexington.”
Any burgers he brings will be a bonus; Kentucky will be content if he can replicate the success it has had with Duffy, who last year won the Ray Guy Award and was a consensus All-America selection after leading the nation in net punting (44.55-yard average) and punting average (48.1 yards per punt). Fans of Duffy’s style of punting — more mobile and patient than kicks traditionally seen from American kickers — will be pleased to hear that they should expect more of the same from Berry, who has never played American football but isn’t a complete stranger to the sport.
Berry and his brother, Jordan, got turned on to the game in their youth despite not having access to NFL broadcasts early on.
“Around 2007, 2008, there was no NFL on our TVs, so the only American football we could watch, is they had a channel that had the Florida Gators on it,” Berry said. “So I pretty much watched Tim Tebow at that time and we played some Madden. Things kind of went from there.”
Jordan now is the punter for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but prior to that he was recruited to Eastern Kentucky University by then-head coach Dean Hood, a trailblazer in identifying Australian talent. Hood, now the head coach at Murray State, recruited Duffy to Kentucky while he was on Mark Stoops’ staff.
“Once he made the NFL, I was up at 4:30, 5 a.m. watching every game,” Wilson said. “I’ve watched a lot of American football. I’ve never played it before but I’m excited to give it a crack.”
Wilson visited UK about two years ago when Jordan married his wife, Emily, a Lexington native whom he met while at EKU. The two were wedded at The Round Barn Stable of Memories on Red Mile Road, and prior to that event they drove Wilson through campus and showed him the sights.
At that time, he barely fathomed coming to college in the United States, let alone getting a scholarship offer from a Southeastern Conference school.
“Once I heard there was a chance to go to Kentucky, it was unreal,” Wilson said. “It was an easy choice, really.”
Australia to UK
Wilson was a member of Essendon’s team in the Victorian Football League, which he likened to being part of a practice squad in the NFL. The Victorian Football League is a sort of minor league of the Australian Football League.
He was a standout at the prep level but didn’t quite make the cut to be drafted out of school, but got on with Essendon. Due to the nature of the league’s draft and free-agency systems, though, the writing was on the wall for his AFL aspirations. Still, it was a good experience, especially in terms of mixing with different-aged peer groups. He often was among the younger guys in the VFL; now he’ll be one of college football’s oldest freshmen.
Because NCAA amateur qualifications are sport-specific and Australian rules football is a different sport than American football, there are no eligibility concerns for Wilson. He’ll be able to play four years at Kentucky.
Wilson’s goal is to leave UK with a master’s degree in physical therapy. It’s too early to know if he’ll follow his brother’s footsteps into the NFL, but that’s his biggest dream.
“I’m obviously going to work as hard as I can to do that but I haven’t actually played a game yet so I’m taking it one step at a time,” Wilson said. “I’m just ticking off goals as they come. If it happens, phew, it’s a pretty good job so I wouldn’t turn it down, for sure.”
Kentucky’s 2021 commitments
In addition to Berry, the following players have announced commitments to UK as part of the 2021 recruiting class:
▪ Dekel Crowdus, wide receiver (Frederick Douglass HS, Ky.)
▪ Jordan Lovett, defensive back (North Hardin HS, Ky.)
▪ Chauncey Magwood, wide receiver (Leesburg HS, Ga.)
▪ Paul Rodriguez, offensive tackle (William Mason HS, Ohio)
▪ Kahlil Saunders, defensive end (Grissom HS, Ala.)
▪ Armond Scott, wide receiver (Euclid HS, Ohio)
▪ Kaiya Sheron, quarterback (Somerset HS, Ky.)
▪ Joko Willis, linebacker (Independence Community College, Kan.)
▪ David Wohlabaugh, offensive tackle (Walsh Jesuit HS, Ohio)
▪ La’Vell Wright, running back (North Hardin HS, Ky.)
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 11:46 AM.
