Eric LaShawn Wilkerson (born December 19, 1966) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

who played one season with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

of the

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. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...

and attended

Cleveland Central Catholic High School Cleveland Central Catholic High School is a private co-educational high school located in Cleveland, Ohio. It is run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. It is a member of the North Central Association, the Notre Dame Education Associatio ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He was also a member of the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

New York/New Jersey Knights The New York/New Jersey Knights was a franchise in the World League of American Football for the 1991 and 1992 seasons. They played in the North American East division, which they won in the 1991 season. They were coached by Mouse Davis, an archit ...

and

Cleveland Thunderbolts The Cleveland Thunderbolts were an Arena football team based in Richfield, Ohio. The Thunderbolts were founded in 1991 and were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL). In 1994, the franchise relocated to Columbus The team played for four se ...

Early years

Wilkerson

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in football and track all four years for the Cleveland Central Catholic High School Ironmen. He rushed for nearly 1,300 yards and 17 touchdowns his senior year. He also finished fourth in the state track meet in the 400 meters. Wilkerson earned All-Conference and All-Scholastic honors. He has been inducted into the school's hall of fame.

College career

Wilkerson played for the

Kent State Golden Flashes The Kent State Golden Flashes are the athletic teams that represent Kent State University. The university fields 19 varsity athletic teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level with football competing in ...

from 1985 to 1988, recording career totals of 3,830 yards and 36 touchdowns on 739 rushing attempts. He also accumulated two kick return touchdowns, two passing touchdowns and 506 receiving yards on 44 receptions. He was named the MAC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in 1987 after rushing for 1,221 yards and ten touchdowns. Wilkerson led the MAC in rushing yards in 1988 with 1,325 and in rushing touchdowns with 14. He earned First-team All-MAC honors three times during his college career. He also earned AP Honorable Mention All-American honors in 1987 and 1988. Wilkerson was selected to play in the

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following his senior season. He was inducted into the Varsity "K" Hall of Fame in 1995. His number 40 was retired by the Golden Flashes on March 1, 1989.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers

Wilkerson signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on May 11, 1989. He later converted to wide receiver. He was released by the Steelers on September 4, 1989 and signed to the team's practice squad on September 6, 1989. Wilkerson played in one game for the Steelers during the 1989 season. He was also active for the team's two postseason games that year. He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after the 1989 season.

Detroit Lions

Wilkerson then signed with the Detroit Lions during the 1990 off-season. He was released by the Lions on September 3, 1990 and re-signed by the team later.

New York/New Jersey Knights

Wilkerson was selected by the New York/New Jersey Knights of the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

in the 1991 WLAF Draft. He led the league in rushing with 717 yards in 1991 and garnered Second-team All-World League accolades. He also tied for the league lead with eleven total touchdowns after recording seven rushing and four receiving scores. Wilkerson recorded 404 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns in 1992.

Cleveland Thunderbolts

Wilkerson played for the Cleveland Thunderbolts in 1993, recording five tackles, one pass breakup and one interception.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkerson, Eric Living people 1966 births Players of American football from Cleveland American football running backs American football wide receivers African-American players of American football Kent State Golden Flashes football players Pittsburgh Steelers players New York/New Jersey Knights players Cleveland Thunderbolts players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople