Villanova Opponent Spotlight | Wildcats' Koroma: Size doesn't matter

He is a leader on Villanova's defense and one of the team's best all-around athletes, but Salim Koroma is no stranger to being overshadowed.

The Wildcats' senior cornerback is only the second-best defensive back to ever play in his family - his uncle Gibril Wilson is now the Oakland Raiders' starting free safety and the owner of a New York Giants' Super Bowl ring.

When Division I-A schools looked at him, the 5-foot-6, 150-pound cornerback was stuck in the shadow of bigger and stronger players. And as far as Penn is concerned, his interception in last year's contest went almost unnoticed, as it was one of just seven in the game.

But Koroma is making sure no one overlooks him any more.

"I definitely play with a chip on my shoulder," he said. "I always feel like I have something to prove. Hopefully, I'm doing that right now."

Excuse him for his me-against-the-world attitude, but Koroma's football career has warranted such an outlook.

At Northwest High in Germantown, Md., he played on both sides of the ball and was named the All-Metro Area kick returner by The Washington Post.

Being featured in the paper may have been Koroma's 15 minutes of fame, but fittingly, in the Post's team photo, he's stuffed in the second row, difficult to see over Kenny Jefferson (now a fullback at Virginia Tech). Koroma's college football recruitment went along with that theme.

No school would offer him a scholarship, and a walk-on opportunity at Maryland seemed like his only option. At the last minute, however, Villanova came through with an offer that was too much to turn down.

Now that he's a member of the Wildcats, Koroma prides himself on playing bigger than he is, and he backs it up. In Villanova's 31-14 loss to the Terrapins last year, he got bittersweet revenge on the school that spurned him when he intercepted a Jordan Steffy pass and took it 42 yards to the house.

"I'm not the prototypical-sized college player," Koroma said. "But after getting into college, I showed that I can play with guys that are bigger than me."

After playing wideout as a freshman and returning punts as recently as last season, Koroma is now exclusively a defensive back.

So when Penn is on offense on Saturday, the little guy in the secondary could be the one wreaking havoc.

"I may not be a captain on the team, but I'm a leader by example," Koroma said. "The guys look to me to make plays."

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