The idea of going back to school in early January is not exactly the stuff of dreams for most students. But the chance to get back to school has SMU wide receiver Terrance Wilkerson feeling ecstatic.

“It’s official,” he said. “I’m going to be back at SMU. I’ll be participating in spring ball and everything. I’ll be back this month.”

Terrance Wilkerson said getting suspended has changed the way he looks at both football and his academics (photo by David Mojica).

Wilkerson was driving to the campus Tuesday when he shared his thoughts about the fall semester that he spent away from his school and team after getting academically suspended by the university.

“I’m getting enrolled today,” he said. “I thank God — that’s the only reason. I reapplied, and initially, they told me ‘no’ about three-and-a-half weeks ago. The understanding was that I was told I had to sit out a semester, and they would take me back in spring. I did everything they asked, and they still told me ‘no.’ So I appealed again, writing another paper, and they accepted me.”

Wilkerson, who will be a senior next fall, said that when he received his suspension, SMU officials didn’t give him any specifics about what he had to do in order to get reinstated.

“They didn’t tell me to do anything specific, but they mentioned some things that would help,” Wilkerson said. “They said I could go to another school, like a community college, but they said the credit hours would not count, and I didn’t want my parents to spend money on something that wouldn’t count. So they also said I could go work, and I did.

“But they told me they likely would take me back, because my suspension was not a disciplinary issue. So while I was sitting out, I was just working and working out throughout the time off.”

Wilkerson got a job with a car battery company in his hometown of DeSoto, commuting each day from the apartment he shares near the SMU campus with senior linebacker Youri Yenga. He ran and lifted weights, although he admitted that working out on his own was difficult.

“I did a lot of running — mostly sprints and hills, because one big thing I emphasize, being a receiver, is that I always want to get faster,” Wilkerson said. “I put a lot of emphasis on speed, doing 40s and other sprints. I’ve been lifting, too, but it’s hard when you’re not working with your guys, and I’ve actually lost a little weight. I played at 180 last year, and now I’m about 170, but it won’t be that hard to get back in to game shape.”

Because he was given no specific tasks he had to complete before seeking readmission, the letters Wilkerson wrote to the appeals committee were centered around how his semester away from school has helped him prepare to pursue his degree.

“My main problem was … I was never incapable of doing work,” he said. “It’s just that my priorities were out of whack. I was really focused on football. It wasn’t that I wasn’t going to class, but I just wasn’t studying — I was pushing it aside. It took that suspension for me to wake up, to realize it was for real. You can’t be halfway in school and make it in life. It doesn’t work that way. It was a maturation process. I saw what life would be like without my degree, and I don’t want that. I’m going to graduate from SMU.

“So I typed up an outline, showing them how many hours I needed to graduate (with a degree in sociology) and how I plan to achieve my goal of graduating from SMU. I had to show them that I’m serious, and I am. Having that, the chance to graduate from SMU, taken away really opened my eyes.”

The 2010 season was hard for Wilkerson, who said he couldn’t bring himself to attend the Mustangs’ first few home games. He said the hardest time was when Yenga was out of the apartment during the team’s preseason workouts.

“I tried to stay away from talking to him about (football), but I asked him quite a few times, how things were going,” Wilkerson said. “The hardest thing about this whole time off was two-a-days — that’s when it really hit me that the season was going to get started without me. Games were hard, but two-a-days are when you know it’s time to play. That was the lowest point for me. Youri not being home for three weeks because of two-a-days – hit me hardest.

“(Watching games) was hard, but I went to the Tulsa game, and after that, I came from there on. I came to support my team, and especially to support Youri, who’s like my brother.”

Wilkerson said that sitting in the stands, rather than playing, further reminded him of his newfound focus.

“I got reminded of why I did not want to come to the games,” he said. “It was hard. I remembered the feeling, and I knew I was supposed to be on the field, but was in the stands. It fueled a fire in me.

“This was my year. I had been growing, improving at a fast rate, so missing this year really hurt, but now I appreciate it a lot more. I was ready to play, but my mistakes got in the way. I know I won’t let that happen again.”

Wilkerson visited the campus every now and then, but said he made a concerted effort not to pester his former teammates and coaches.

“I tried to stay out the way,” he said. “They had a season and I didn’t want them to worry about Terrance. Talked to (head) Coach (June) Jones, and he said, ‘when you come back, you’ll be eligible for spring. Everything will be the same.’”

Wilkerson said he did have one conversation with Jones, during which Wilkerson told his coach that he was eager to return, but he actually did not want everything to be exactly as it was before his suspension. He even requested not to have his old jersey number, 18, asking to assume running back Chris Butler’s jersey number, 1. He said Jones made no promises about anything, from the number on his jersey to playing time and his role on the team.

“I talked to Coach Jones about it, and told him I don’t want to be the same, because I’m not the same man after this whole thing,” Wilkerson said. “Changing my number is my way of telling myself not the same man, whether in classroom, in my work habits … in everything I do. I want to take it up a step.

“I’m really anxious, really excited to get back. I’m humbled, but I’m ready to get back. I really just want to help my team. I don’t know how everything’s going to shake down as far as playing, but I’m going to do whatever it takes.”