Russell Wilson isn’t perfect.

That statement may come as a shock to Seahawk, Wolfpack, and Badger fans who have adored him because he often seems perfect. He is so calm, poised, and intelligent that when he makes a mistake we are surprised.

We forget that the day Russell became the quarterback at NC State, no one thought he was “perfect.” At 5’11”, he was shorter than the prototypical college quarterback. Most of the successful ones were 6’4″ or 6’5″, able to see over huge offensive linemen and withstand vicious hits. When people saw Russell, they mumbled about him – they weren’t sure how long he could hold up. In his first college game, he was carried off the field with a concussion before halftime. See? they said. I told you so.

But Russell didn’t quit because he wasn’t the “perfect” quarterback. He learned from that concussion that he couldn’t be the kind of quarterback everyone else was. If he was going to be one, he had to play the position differently. It was not going to be easy. He would be knocked down, he would make mistakes, and the Wolfpack would lose some games. But he would become a better player because of his innate willingness to learn….and his desire to keep moving forward despite his imperfection.

This past December, the Seahawks lost to the Atlanta Falcons, and Russell had a mediocre game. People were surprised: the Falcons were having a rough season and the Seahawks had seemed almost invincible. Russell had been having a great year. After that game, he said, “Everything doesn’t just perfectly go easy. If you’re trying to get to something great, a lot of times you go through some hardships and some times where everything is not perfect. You go through some bumps in the road.”

Those words may be Russell’s most perfect yet.

Update, January 20, 2014 – In two weeks, Russell Wilson will be playing in the Super Bowl. He didn’t have to be perfect to get there.