FSU Football Alums: Could James Wilder Jr. reach CFL milestone in 2018?

Former FSU Football star James Wilder is looking to do something that would get his name in the record books if he can reach 1,000 yards in two ways.

After winning a national title with the FSU football team in 2013, running back James Wilder Jr. has finally found his niche in the professional football world – no, it isn’t in the NFL, where he spent two seasons on the practice squad for the Cincinnati Bengals before spending about nine months as a member of the Buffalo Bills.

No, the former Seminoles star has taken his talents even north of those spots – where he is now shining as one of the best young running backs in the Canadian Football League as he enters his second season with the Toronto Argonauts.

After winning rookie of the year last season following a campaign that saw the former FSU football star get 872 yards on the ground and another 467 through the air in helping Toronto bring home the Grey Cup as champs of the league, Wilder is eye something bigger this season – and might be on pace to just do it.

Following Saturday’s win over the Edmonton Eskimos, where Wilder went for 120 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown, Wilder Jr. now sits at 196 yards on the season through the first three games – setting him on a pace to finish with 1,176 yards for the season as part of the 18 game schedule in the CFL.

As far as through the air, the former FSU football star had 27 yards on three catches to pull him up to 125 yards on the season – which gets him in the conversation, if he can have a few monster games like he did in college, about have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 receiving on the season.

It’s something that has only been done twice in the NFL, but Wilder Jr. doing it north of the border would be a feat even if some of his teammates doubt it can take place (h/t Toronto Sun).

"“I don’t know,’’ quarterback Rick Ray said when asked if Wilder Jr. can break through. “We do ask a lot of the running backs in this system. Coach says they set the tone for us. We ask them to run the football, protect the quarterback and catch passes. He’s going to get a lot of opportunities to do both, run and catch.”"

There is no doubt, in my mind, that this former FSU football stud is going to reach the 1K mark on the ground if he stays healthy. He’s already showing the skill set he did in college and the ability to break the first tackle with ease.

Now, the question comes will he get that many touches through the air. True, the CFL does have a more wide open offense than the NFL and asks their backs to do more, but he would need to bump his per game average from around 42 yards a game right now to just over 58 yards a game the rest of the season assuming he stays healthy.

Next: Dalvin Cook called breakout fantasy star in 2018

It’s going to take plenty of work putting this former FSU football star into the complete game plan, but don’t be surprised if history is made this season in the province of Ontario.