Ex-ODU walk-on walking away from team for right reasons

For J.C. Wiggins, football at Old Dominion University ended too soon, but not unhappily.

The former walk-on walked away from the team last week with two years of eligibility remaining. But he left for the best of reasons - to prepare for medical school.

"I absolutely loved it," he said Thursday morning. "I wish I had played more, but it's been a great experience. Some tough times, but also the most fun I've ever had."

Sitting at a table in the back of Borjo Coffeehouse on Monarch Way in University Village, Wiggins mentioned that while he had one more exam later that day - in genetics - the worst of his finals were over.

"Physical chemistry," he said, "pretty much kicked my butt."

His workload also included cell biology, biochemistry and calculus 3.

Wiggins, who turned 21 two weeks ago, will graduate in May with a biochemistry degree after only three years of college.

"Being a walk-on, you take your grades a lot more seriously," he said. "You're paying for those classes and the books."

Maximizing his talents was a way to thank his mother and grandfather in Richmond for making his college experience possible.

"As much as I respect my mother and grandfather," he said, "it's important for me to perform well in the classroom."

Wiggins' father was shot and killed when he was 4. His mother raised him on a teacher's salary while also working as a hair stylist. Now she's the principal at Armstrong High in Richmond - "a pretty tough school," her son said.

"I get a lot of my toughness and seriousness from her," he added.

Wiggins was recruited as a preferred walk-on by assistant head coach Dealton Cotton, arriving at ODU as a running back before being converted to defensive back. He saw most of his action this season on special teams, and thinks that with another year he could have made a bigger contribution.

Taking a shot at medical school is more important, though. After spending last summer as a research intern at the University of Virginia, he knows what he wants. But that doesn't mean that football doesn't still whisper to him.

"Medicine is my newfound passion in life," he said. At the same time, "there's nothing like chasing down a receiver and getting an interception."

An experience he had in football set him on the path to medicine.

He was always a good student, quick in math and science, but after he broke his wrist during his sophomore season in high school, he knew what he wanted to do with his life.

On the visit to a specialist who set the fracture - "It just amazed me what he could do" - Wiggins decided he wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon. He hopes to specialize in sports medicine.

"Maybe one day I'll become a team doctor," he said.

Dressed in football sweats and a San Jose Sharks hat, he looked like any other athlete you might see around campus. While his aspirations set him apart from his former teammates, he insists he's not that different.

"Some guys are just here for football," he said, "but a lot of football players have their heads on right. Everybody has their dreams."

He'll take the Medical College Admission Test in April. The MCAT, he joked, is "like the SATs on steroids."

His plans also include volunteering as an EMT and attaining another medical internship. If all goes well, he hopes to attend medical school in his home town, at VCU.

"Handling a difficult major, graduating in three years and playing football has prepared me for handling the workload in medical school," he said. "And football has prepared me to be competitive."

A lot of football players might have their heads on right, but J.C. Wiggins has dreams that can't be put on hold.