George Eugene Wilson Jr. (born March 14, 1981) is a former

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

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. He was signed by 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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in 2004. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. Wilson was a longtime player for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and also played for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

Early life

Wilson played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

for Paducah Tilghman High School in

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern Unit ...

. He twice was named all-state and was honorable mention

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

as a senior. He was also named all state in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and lettered in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and track as well. During his high school football career, Wilson had 81 catches for 1,723 yards and 24

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. Wilson played in the Kentucky-

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

All-Star Game.

College career

Wilson played at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

. He was a starter for three years at Arkansas and led the team in receptions for two of those years. He had at least one reception in 38 of his final 40 games. For his career, he played in 44 games, catching 144 passes for 2,151 yards (14.9 average) and 16 touchdowns. Wilson left Arkansas with the second most receptions in a career there (behind Anthony Eubanks) and he had the third highest total for receiving touchdowns and receiving yardage there (behind Eubanks and Anthony Lucas). He was only the 16th player in school history to gain over 1,000 yards receiving in a career. In 2002, he led the team with 49 catches for 626 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns, starting 11 of 14 games. In 2003, Wilson had four 100-yard receiving games, including a career-high 172 yards on nine receptions and a touchdown in the 71-63 seven overtime win at Kentucky. Over Wilson's four seasons at Arkansas, he helped the Hogs go to four consecutive bowl games, winning the 2003 Independence Bowl as a senior on a team that finished 9–4, as well as win a share of the 2002 SEC West Division Championship during his junior season on a team that finished 9–5.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

Wilson was signed by the

on April 30, 2004, as an

Buffalo Bills

Wilson was signed by the

to their

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on October 18, 2004, and played his first regular season game on September 11, 2005, against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. Up to the 2007 season, he had played in only three games in his

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

career and never recorded a reception. For the 2007 season, Wilson made the transition to

strong safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free sa ...

, a position in which he had never played in an organized game. On October 8, 2007, on ''

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

'', he

intercepted In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

Tony Romo Antonio Ramiro Romo (born April 21, 1980) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Eastern Illinois Pan ...

and returned it for a touchdown in his first NFL start. His 2007–2008 season ended with a rib injury on December 10, 2007, in a game against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

in which he returned a

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

for a touchdown. In the 2008 season, Wilson played in all 16 games for the first time in his career. He shared a sack of

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Matt Cassel with

Marcus Stroud Marcus LaVar Stroud (born June 25, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, and was selected b ...

at New England on November 9, 2008. The play marked his first career participation in a sack. He also recovered the fumble forced by Stroud on the same play, marking his second career fumble recovery. Wilson had a season-high four tackles, including one for a loss of five yards, a sack, and recovered a fumble at KC. He finished third on the team with 15 special teams tackles. He was voted special teams captain prior to the season, and has been voted consecutively as team captain for seasons since. Wilson is the first

defensive back to post consecutive multi-sack seasons since

Lawyer Milloy Lawyer Marzell Milloy (born November 14, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He played college football for the Washington Huskies, and earned unanimou ...

(2003–04) and only the second Bills defensive back to accomplish this feat. On February 11, 2013, Wilson was released from the Bills, along with linebacker

Nick Barnett Nicholas Alexander Barnett (born May 27, 1981) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon State Beavers football, ...

Tennessee Titans

On February 22, 2013, Wilson was signed by the

. He was later waived by the Titans.

Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame

Wilson was a part of the 2022 Induction to the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame. This is the 20th anniversary of their Hall of Fame Inductions.

Career statistics

Philanthropy

Wilson has been an active philanthropist both within his community and on a national scale to improve education for today's youth. In 2008, Wilson received the

President's Volunteer Service Award The President's Volunteer Service Award is a civil award bestowed by the President of the United States. Established by executive order by George W. Bush, the award was established to honor volunteers that give hundreds of hours per year helpin ...

, the highest service honor awarded by the White House. The following year, he founded his own foundation, the George Wilson S.A.F.E.T.Y. Foundation that aims to educate today's youth no matter what their background. Wilson has received the Buffalo Bills

Walter Payton Man of the Year Award Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year is an award presented annually by the National Football League (NFL) honoring a player's commitment to philanthropy and community impact, as well as his excellence on the field. Prior to 1999, it was called si ...

twice, once in 2009 and then again in 2011. Recently, Wilson has increased his work with

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

. He became the regional Live United spokesperson for United Way of Buffalo and Erie County in 2010. He also serves as the

representative for

United Way Worldwide United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

Team NFL, to recruit one million volunteer readers, tutors and mentors and cut the high school dropout rate in half by 2018. In his native

, Wilson also hosts an annual Summer SportsFest that benefits his former high school. He has also headed up a Life Skills Camping Retreat in Nashville to teach leadership, self-esteem and responsibility to youth. Wilson has also worked with

Toys for Tots Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. It was founded in 1947 by reservist Major Bill Hendricks. The Marine T ...

, and helped provide over 5,000 donations and gifts for families in his hometown. The "George's Jungle" program is another initiative where Wilson personally donates 20 season tickets and meal vouchers to Buffalo Public High School students. For the first time in 2011, George served as a spokesperson for the

Kids Escaping Drugs Campaign. With his teammates, Wilson assisted in helping raise over $8,000 for the organization. In addition, Wilson also mentored a group for 15 young men from a local community center in Buffalo through the "That's Life" Program in 2009 and still has a strong bond with each one of the boys. Wilson has also participated in the Night out with the Bills which is put on by the Buffalo Pro Ministry Athletes in Action. The players in attendance shared stories about their views on faith, signed autographs and posed for pictures with over 700 members of the Buffalo Community. Wilson was also the spokesman for the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

Blood Drives at

Ralph Wilson Stadium Highmark Stadium (also known colloquially as The Ralph) is a stadium in Orchard Park, New York, United States, in the Southtowns of the Buffalo, New York, Buffalo metropolitan area. It is the home venue of the Buffalo Bills of the National Footb ...

in September and November 2010. With the help of George and the teams support, over 500 units of blood were collected, ultimately saving over 1,500 lives.

George Wilson S.A.F.E.T.Y. Foundation

The George Wilson S.A.F.E.T.Y. Foundation's mission is to Save Adolescents From the Everyday Trials of Youth by using life skills as a tool to educate youth on how to survive in different environments. Through programs such as the Leadership Retreat, Sports Fest Football Camp and the That's Life after-school program, the George Wilson S.A.F.E.T.Y. Foundation has impacted the lives of over 5,000 students within the Buffalo, NY and Paducah, KY School systems since its inception in 2009.

Acting career

In early 2010, Wilson performed opposite

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

in her music video for the song " We Got Hood Love". He also performed opposite

Marsha Ambrosius Marsha Ambrosius-Billups, born Marsha Angelique Ambrosius (born 8 August 1977) is an English singer and songwriter. She began her music career in the early 2000s with Floetry, achieving both critical acclaim and commercial success. Following the ...

in her music video for the song "

Late Nights & Early Mornings ''Late Nights & Early Mornings'' is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Marsha Ambrosius. It was released on March 1, 2011, by J Records, following the disbandment of her R&B duo Floetry. The album debuted at number two on the US ...

References

External links

*
Buffalo Bills: George Wilson

ESPN Stats: George WilsonBuffalo Bills Roster

United Way Team NFL: George WilsonGeorge Wilson is Bills-Man of the Year
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, George 1981 births Living people Players of American football from Kentucky American football safeties American football wide receivers Arkansas Razorbacks football players Detroit Lions players Buffalo Bills players Tennessee Titans players Paducah Tilghman High School alumni African-American Christians 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen