Ontaria 'Pokey' Wilson is back with the Blue Bombers after spending time with the New York Jets; photos by Cameron Bartlett
He’ll be undoubtedly welcomed back with open arms — wide open arms — and help give a boost to a Winnipeg Blue Bombers passing attack that can never have enough weapons.
Yes, the announcement of the return of receiver Ontaria ‘Pokey’ Wilson by the club today, plus the news he has signed an extension through the 2026 season, will get take some of the sting away from everyone in Bomberland in the wake of Sunday’s 34-30 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the annual Labour Day Classic.
To that end, it’s time to get reacquainted with Wilson, last year’s Blue Bombers Most Outstanding Rookie, and to do that here are 5 facts/nuggets as part of a reintroduction…
HIS DAYS AT FSU
Wilson attended Florida State and had decent, if unspectacular numbers with the Seminoles appearing in 51 games, with 36 starts, while pulling in 108 passes for 1,521 yards and 12 TDs.
There should be an asterisk on his college days, as he had three different head coaches, six offensive coordinators and three receiver coaches with the Seminoles. Even with all that change he managed to flash enough to get the look from the Chargers as an undrafted free agent.
He’s a proud product of Ashburn, Georgia — a city of 4,500 about 170 miles south of Atlanta.
“It’s a small town where everybody knows everybody,” Wilson said last year. “And if you’re a good athlete, pretty much everybody knows you. Everyone feels like family. My city, anywhere someone goes they’ll support you — it doesn’t matter what league you’re in, what city you’re in, the support is there. They’ll be there for me now that I’m here in Winnipeg.
“Everybody has already been asking me how they can watch the game and now my mom is trying to figure out which game she can get up here to see. It’s all so exciting. I can’t wait to make some plays and help this team win.”
Interesting story as to how Wilson, whose given name is Ontaria, came to almost instantly be known to friends and family as ‘Pokey’.
Shortly after his birth his grandmother set upon him and instantly nicknamed him ‘Pokey’, thinking he resembled a character from the Japanese anime series Pokemon. The nickname stuck and as he grew up and earned a scholarship to FSU the catchphrase for the Pokemon series — ‘Gotta Catch ‘Em All’ — just made the moniker seem that much fitting for such a gifted receiver.
WILSON’S BLUE BOMBER DEBUT
The Blue Bombers first signed Wilson to a futures contract in November of 2023 after first spotted by team scouts while attending camp with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023. He earned a spot after an impressive training camp with the club and made the active roster as an opening day starter against Montreal on June 6th, pulling in one pass for 16 yards.
Just to recap, here’s how he found out he made the squad…
“They had us in the dorms and then you’re just waiting for someone to knock on our door,” he told bluebombers.com last June. “It’s nerve-wracking waiting on that, but if no one comes and talks to you then you’ve made the team.
“Thing is, you do have roommates so, unfortunately, some guys in the room do get the knock and some don’t. You just don’t want to see anyone on that day. I’ve been cut before from teams, so this is a big accomplishment. But I never really celebrated it or, honestly, haven’t really taken it all in yet.”
WELCOME TO THE CFL MOMENT
Wilson needed a few weeks to get a feel for the three-down game, pulling in just eight catches for 85 yards in his first five starts. And then came his bust-out game when pulled in 13 passes for 201 yards in a 41-37 home win over the Calgary Stampeders last July 12th. Just to put those numbers in perspective: the 13 catches tied for second-most in franchise history along with James Murphy and Derick Armstrong behind Eugene Goodlow’s epic 15-reception game in 1981 and his 201 yards receiving was the first 200-yard effort by a Winnipeg receiver since Kenny Lawler had seven catches for an even 200 in a win over B.C. in August of 2023.
“It was fun,” said Wilson. “When you say 13 catches, I really didn’t know how many catches I had throughout the game until after the game was over. Then they were like, ’13 for 200 (yards)’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, that was a lot.’ My phone’s been blowing up a lot. Pretty much every day someone is reaching out — whether it’s fans, people I played on past teams with… it’s a lot of people.
“I was just waiting on my opportunity to show the CFL I can play, and I came to play some ball. I just tried to stay on an even trail — never too high, never too low and when the ball is called for me, I tried to take advantage and when it’s not coming to me, I’m more than proud to go block for my teammates. I never had any doubts. Never doubted myself.”
Asked if it was a sign of things to come, he grinned and then said:
“Way more great things to come. Definitely.”
Added Collaros after that game: “Pokey can play. He can Waggle; he can play on the ball. In the quarterback room we’ve been saying we’ve got to find ways to get this guy the ball. I haven’t seen many guys like him be able to adjust to the football in the air the way he does — Kenny Lawler is probably the best I’ve ever seen at that, and we’ve got Nic (Demski) who does the Willy Mays (over the shoulder catch) better than anybody but Ontaria is very smooth as well. He’s a good football player.”
SALUTED
Wilson’s 201-yard effort against the Stamps was then followed by two more 100-yard games during the season — a seven-catch, 129-yard effort versus Toronto at the end of July and then seven catches for 112 yards against B.C. in early August. By season’s end he had pulled in 71 catches for 1,026 yards and three TDs — ninth in the CFL — and finished just behind Nic Demski’s numbers of 76 for 1,030.
With that he was the unanimous choice as the Blue Bombers Most Outstanding rookie.
“I’m just thankful. Back in training camp we had something like 30 rookie receivers, so it was overwhelming seeing a lot of guys and knowing that I’ve got to compete with all these guys and knowing there was a limited amount of spots,” Wilson said when receiving the club’s rookie award last October. “So, every day I came in and just tried to be the best I can be. Throughout training camp and the season I just tried to stay consistent and every day come in and be the best that I could be.”
EXIT AND RETURN
Wilson parlayed his solid debut season with the Blue Bombers into a second chance at the NFL, signing a reserve/future contract with the Jets on January 16, 2025. He had three catches for 38 yards in the Jets first two preseason games but didn’t register a reception in their final tune-up against the Philadelphia Eagles and was waived on August 23rd.
Wilson, who turned 26 earlier this month, remained property of the Blue Bombers after this release by New York and has now signed an extension that keeps him here through this season and 2026.
