John Parker Wilson

John Parker Wilson (born October 17, 1985) is an American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Wilson played college football at the University of Alabama. He went undrafted during the 2009 NFL Draft before signing with the Atlanta Falcons.

Freshman
After leading Hoover High School to high school state titles in 2002 and 2003, Wilson accepted a scholarship offer to play for the Alabama Crimson Tide. At the time, he also had scholarship offers from several Southeastern Conference schools, including Alabama's rival, Tennessee. He saw limited playing time during his freshman year, backing up full-time starter Brodie Croyle. His first career touchdown came against South Carolina, a 36-yard pass to wide receiver Keith Brown, in Alabama's 37–14 rout of the Gamecocks. He would finish the season with only 98 yards and two touchdowns.

Sophomore
In 2006, Wilson started all 12 games for the Crimson Tide. He finished the season with a passing efficiency of 128.92, completing 216–of–379 passes for 2,707 yards, 17 touchdowns and ten interceptions. He threw for over 200 yards in the first seven games of the season, setting a new school record, and finished with a school record nine 200-yard games.


 * His best game was at Arkansas (completing 80.0% of his passes for 243 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions)
 * He had strong performances at LSU (completing 62.9% of his passes, throwing for 291 yards, two touchdowns, and 1 interception), and against Ole Miss (completing 57.1% of his passes, throwing for 206 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions)
 * He had a solid performance, although in a loss, against rival Auburn (completing 54.5% of his passes for 252 yards, two touchdowns, and 1 interception).
 * His worst games were against Mississippi State (completing only 48.7% of his passes and throwing two interceptions), at Florida (completing 52.5% of his passes, but throwing three interceptions), and at Tennessee (completing only 44.8% of his passes).

Junior
In 2007, Wilson started 13 games for Alabama. His passer rating was 114.6, completing 255–of–462 passes for 2,846 yards, 18 touchdowns (a school record) and 12 interceptions. He was sacked 25 times during the season. His best performance was against rival Tennessee, in which he completed 32 of 46 passing attempts for 367 yards and three touchdowns. Another notable performance was his winning touchdown against Arkansas with eight seconds left in the game.

Senior
In his senior season, Wilson was again the starting quarterback, ahead of Greg McElroy. He led the Crimson Tide to a 12–2 season, with victories against #9-ranked Clemson Tigers, #3–ranked Georgia Bulldogs, and #15-ranked LSU Tigers. In the regular season finale, he led Alabama to 36–0 victory over in-state rival Auburn, ending a six-game losing streak to the Tigers. After finishing the regular season 12–0, #1 Alabama eventually lost to #2 Florida in the SEC Championship Game. In the 2009 Sugar Bowl, Alabama was defeated by the Utah Utes, 31–17.

Wilson holds every significant passing record in Alabama school history.

Atlanta Falcons
Wilson was signed by the Atlanta Falcons after going undrafted in the 2009 NFL Draft. He did not play in any regular season games. Wilson played most of the game during the 2010 pre-season game against the New England Patriots. He assisted in scoring one touchdown during that game. He was released during final cuts on September 3, 2011, and re-signed to the Falcons' practice squad the following day. On December 2, 2011 it was reported that the Vikings tried to sign John Parker Wilson off of the Falcons practice squad. Instead John Parker Wilson chose to sign to The Falcons 53 man roster. On August 26, 2012 he was waived by the Falcons in order for the team to maintain a league mandatory 75 man roster during the preseason.

Jacksonville Jaguars
Wilson was signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad on September 1, 2012. He was promoted to the active roster on October 27 and released on October 29. He was signed back to the practice squad on October 31. Wilson was signed to the active roster after the conclusion of the 2012 season. He was released on February 27, 2013.

Pittsburgh Steelers
One day after being released by the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Pittsburgh Steelers claimed Wilson off of waivers. The Steelers were the only NFL franchise to make a claim for Wilson.