Matthew Wilhelm (born February 2, 1981) is a former American college and professional
football player and a current radio/TV football analyst.
He was a
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) for eight seasons during the early 2000s. He played
college football for
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
, and earned
All-American honors. He was drafted by the
San Diego Chargers in the fourth round of the
2003 NFL Draft
The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. T ...
, also played for the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
and
Green Bay Packers of the NFL, and was a member of the Packers'
Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
championship team that beat the
Pittsburgh Steelers. He is currently a football analyst/show host for
WKNR
WKNR (850 AM) – branded as ''850 ESPN Cleveland'' – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland. Owned by Good Karma Brands, WKNR is the Cleveland affiliate for ESPN Radio and the AM flags ...
AM 850 and
WEWS-TV
WEWS-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC. It has been owned by the E. W. Scripps Company since its inception in 1946, making it one of two stations that have been built and signed on by ...
5 in
Cleveland
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. ...
.
Early years
Wilhelm was born in
Oberlin, Ohio
Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, 31 miles southwest of Cleveland. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students.
The town is the birthplace of th ...
, and grew up in
Lorain, Ohio. He attended
Elyria Catholic High School in
Elyria, Ohio
Elyria ( ) is a city in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan statistical area and the county seat of Lorain County, Ohio, Lorain County, Ohio, United States, located at the forks of the Black River (Ohio), Black River in Northeast Ohio 23 miles sou ...
. He amassed 100 tackles, 26 for loss, and 11 sacks as a senior, and was named a first-team All-Ohio selection. He also played
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...
and
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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball,
and block. Ther ...
. In 2002, his high school retired his No. 34 jersey.
College career
Wilhelm attended Ohio State University, and played for coach
John Cooper and coach
Jim Tressel's
Ohio State Buckeyes football
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing Ohio State University in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State has played their home games at Ohio Stadium i ...
teams from 1999 to 2002. Wilhelm was moved to middle linebacker before his sophomore season and started every game. In his first game as a starter against Fresno State, Wilhelm intercepted a
David Carr pass and ran it 25 yards for a touchdown. The following year, he earned the
Randy Gradishar
Randy Charles Gradishar (born March 3, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a middle linebacker in the 1970s and 1980s for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). A native of Ohio, Gradishar was a tw ...
Award as the team's top linebacker and made all of the defensive calls. As a senior in 2002, Wilhelm was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, and helped his team win a
BCS National Championship with a team-leading 11 tackles in a 31–24
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been pla ...
victory over the
Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...
. Wilhelm ended the year with a career-high 121 tackles and ended his career with the 6th most career tackles for loss for Ohio State all-time.
[Chargers.com - Team » Roster » #57 Matt Wilhelm , LB](_blank)
Professional career
San Diego Chargers
Wilhelm was drafted by the
San Diego Chargers in the fourth round of the
2003 NFL Draft
The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. T ...
. He spent the first four years of his career mostly on
special teams
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
and as a backup. In 2007, he became a full-time starter after
Donnie Edwards
Donnie Edwards (born April 6, 1973) is a former American football linebacker from San Diego, California. He played for thirteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers. He began his ca ...
signed with the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The ...
. He was released by the Chargers on July 24, 2009.
Philadelphia Eagles
Wilhelm was signed by the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
on August 4, 2009 after starting middle linebacker
Stewart Bradley suffered a season-ending knee injury. He was waived on September 5, 2009.
San Francisco 49ers
Wilhelm was signed by the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
on October 19, 2009 after reserve linebacker
Jeff Ulbrich was placed on
injured reserve. He was re-signed to a one-year contract on March 4, 2010. He was cut on September 3, 2010.
Green Bay Packers
Wilhelm was signed by the
Green Bay Packers on October 26, 2010.
Retirement
After winning
Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
as a member of the Packers, Wilhelm decided to retire from the NFL. In 2013, he was hired by
Cleveland
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. ...
radio station
WKNR
WKNR (850 AM) – branded as ''850 ESPN Cleveland'' – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland. Owned by Good Karma Brands, WKNR is the Cleveland affiliate for ESPN Radio and the AM flags ...
AM 850 to be a football analyst, co-host of ''
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
Daily'', and serve as a co-host for the station's Ohio State Buckeyes pregame show. He also appears on Cleveland
ABC affiliate
WEWS-TV
WEWS-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC. It has been owned by the E. W. Scripps Company since its inception in 1946, making it one of two stations that have been built and signed on by ...
5 as a Buckeyes and
Browns analyst.
In 2016, Wilhelm's hometown paper,
The Morning Journal, changed the name of its annual high school football Player of the Year award to The Matt Wilhelm Award in recognition of Wilhelm's lifetime of football achievements.
In 2017, Wilhelm was announced as a member of the 2017 Lorain Sports Hall of Fame class.
Awards and honors
High school
*1998 All-Ohio First-team
College
*2002 All-Big Ten First-team
*2002 Consensus All-American
*2002 National Championship (as a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes)
NFL
*
Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
winner (as a member of the Green Bay Packers)
References
External links
Green Bay Packers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilhelm, Matt
1981 births
Living people
All-American college football players
American football linebackers
Green Bay Packers players
Ohio State Buckeyes football players
People from Oberlin, Ohio
Philadelphia Eagles players
Players of American football from Ohio
San Diego Chargers players
San Francisco 49ers players
Sportspeople from Lorain, Ohio