Russell Wilson

Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). Wilson was selected by the Seahawks with the 12th pick in the third round (75th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Wilson played college football for the University of Wisconsin during the 2011 season, in which he set the single season FBS record for passing efficiency (191.8) and led the team to a Big Ten title and the 2012 Rose Bowl. Wilson received the Big Ten Quarterback of the Year award and was named a consensus first-team All-Big Ten and third-team All-American by Yahoo! Sports.

Wilson played football and baseball for North Carolina State University before transferring to Wisconsin. In 2008, he was named the ACC Rookie of the Year in football and became the first freshman quarterback to receive first team All-ACC honors. Wilson also played minor league baseball for the Tri-City Dust Devils in 2010 and the Asheville Tourists in 2011 as a second baseman.

Wilson signed a four-year, $2.99 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks on May 7, 2012 and was named the team's starting quarterback on August 26, 2012. In his rookie season Wilson led the Seahawks to a 11-5 regular season record and the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, and was named the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year.

Early life and family
Wilson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and grew up in Richmond, Virginia, the son of Harrison Benjamin Wilson III, a lawyer, and Tammy T. Wilson, a legal nurse consultant. He has an older brother, Harrison IV, and a younger sister, Anna. Wilson started playing football with his dad and brother at the age of four.

Wilson's great-great-grandfather was a slave to a Confederate colonel and was freed after the Civil War. Wilson's grandfather, Harrison B. Wilson Jr., is a former president of Norfolk State University who played football and basketball at Kentucky State University. His father played football and baseball at Dartmouth and was a wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers preseason squad in 1980. Wilson's brother played football and baseball at the University of Richmond, and his sister is considered one of the top high school basketball prospects in the country.

Wilson's father died on June 9, 2010 at age 55 due to complications from diabetes.

High school career
Wilson attended Collegiate School, a preparatory school in Richmond, Virginia. As a junior in 2005, he threw for 3,287 yards and 40 touchdowns. He also rushed for 634 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was named an all-district, all-region, and all-state player. Wilson was twice named the Richmond Times-Dispatch Player of the Year.

As a senior in 2006, he threw for 3,009 yards, 34 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Wilson also rushed for 1,132 yards and 18 touchdowns. That year, he was named an all-conference and all-state player as well as conference player of the year. He was featured in Sports Illustrated magazine for his performance in the state championship game win. Wilson also served as his senior class president.

In addition to football, Wilson was also a member of the Collegiate basketball and baseball teams.

Wilson committed to North Carolina State University on July 23, 2006. He also received a football scholarship offer from Duke University.

NC State (2007–2010)
Wilson redshirted during the 2007 season at NC State. In 2008, Wilson initially split time at quarterback with senior Daniel Evans and junior Harrison Beck. However, Evans and Beck saw no regular season action after Week 2 and Week 5, respectively. Thereafter, Wilson led the team to a 4–3 record in the regular season which NC State finished out on a four-game winning streak. During a win over East Carolina, Wilson threw for 201 yards and three touchdowns. He threw for two touchdowns in each of the last six season games.

In the 2008 PapaJohns.com Bowl against Rutgers, Wilson threw for 186 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 46 yards before halftime. Late in the first half, he scrambled to the Rutgers' four-yard line, where he was tackled and suffered a knee sprain. With Wilson sitting out the remainder of the game, his replacements threw a combined total of three interceptions with NC State eventually losing, 23–29. Over the course of the season, he completed 150 of 275 attempts for 1,955 yards and 17 touchdowns with just one interception. He also recorded 116 carries for 394 yards and four touchdowns. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) named him the first-team All-ACC quarterback. It was the first time in the conference's history that a freshman quarterback was named to the first team.

Prior to the 2009 season, Wilson was named as the quarterback on the pre-season all-ACC football team on July 12. On September 19, Wilson broke Andre Woodson's all-time NCAA record of 325 consecutive pass attempts without an interception against Gardner-Webb. The 379-pass streak ended in a game against Wake Forest on October 3. Wilson held the record until November 10, 2012, when it was broken by Louisiana Tech quarterback Colby Cameron.

Wilson led the 2010 Wolfpack to a 9–4 season that included a 23-7 win over West Virginia in the 2010 Champs Sports Bowl. He led the ACC in passing yards per game (274.1) and total offensive yards per game (307.5). Wilson graduated from NC State in three years in May 2010 with a B.A. in communication, and took graduate-level business courses in the fall semester during the 2010 football season.

In January 2011, Wilson announced that he would report to spring training with the Colorado Rockies organization. NC State head coach Tom O'Brien expressed reservations with Wilson's decision, saying "Russell and I have had very open conversations about his responsibilities respective to baseball and football. While I am certainly respectful of Russell's dedication to baseball these last several years, within those discussions I also communicated to him the importance of his time commitment to NC State football." On April 29, 2011, O'Brien announced that Wilson had been granted a release from his football scholarship with one year of eligibility remaining.

Wisconsin (2011)
On June 27, 2011, Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema announced that Wilson had committed to Wisconsin for the 2011 season.

In the season opener against UNLV, Wilson passed for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 51–17 victory. He also rushed for 62 yards, including a 46 yard touchdown run. At the end of the regular season, Wilson was named first team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media. Wilson also won the Griese-Brees Big Ten Quarterback of the Year award.

In the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game on December 3, Wilson threw for 3 touchdowns and led the Badgers to a 42-39 win over the Michigan State Spartans. Wilson was named the game's Grange-Griffin MVP.

In December 2011, Wilson was named a third team All-American by Yahoo Sports, and he finished ninth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy with 52 points.

In the 2012 Rose Bowl vs. the Oregon Ducks on January 2, 2012, Wilson had 19 pass completions on 25 attempts for 296 yards, 18 rushing yards, and 3 touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing). The Badgers lost the game 38-45.

Wilson finished the season with 33 passing touchdowns, which set the single season record at Wisconsin and was the second-most in Big Ten history behind Drew Brees during the 1998 season at Purdue (39). Wilson also set the single season FBS record for passing efficiency (191.8).

On January 28, 2012, Wilson completed his college football career at the 2012 Senior Bowl.

Baseball career
After graduating from high school, Wilson was selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the 5th pick in the 41st round (1222nd overall) of the 2007 MLB Draft. Wilson instead elected to attend NC State that fall. In a 2008 interview Wilson said, "I was leaning towards [entering the draft], but a college education is something you'll always have."

College baseball
Wilson was a member of the NC State Wolfpack baseball team from 2008-2010.

Tri-City Dust Devils
On June 8, 2010, Wilson was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the fourth round (140th pick overall) of the 2010 MLB Draft. That summer he played 32 games as a second baseman for the Tri-City Dust Devils, the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Rockies in the Northwest League. He finished the season with 2 home runs, 11 runs batted in (RBIs), and a .230 batting average.

Asheville Tourists
In the summer of 2011, Wilson played 61 games with the Asheville Tourists, the Class A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies in the South Atlantic League. He had 3 home runs, 15 RBIs, and a .228 batting average.

In January 2012, Wilson informed the Rockies that he would be pursuing a career in the NFL and would not report to spring training for the 2012 season.

2012 NFL Draft
On January 16, 2012, Wilson began training for the NFL Scouting Combine at the IMG Madden Football Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

Prior to the 2012 NFL Draft, Wilson had been projected by NFL scouts and analysts to be a middle-round pick. In February 2012, former NFL quarterback and director of the IMG Madden Football Academy Chris Weinke said of Wilson, "If he was 6-5, he'd probably be the No. 1 pick in the draft." On April 11, 2012, ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden said, "The only issue with Russell Wilson is his height. That might be the reason he's not picked in the first couple rounds."

On April 27, 2012, Wilson was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round (75th pick overall) of the draft.

2012 season
Wilson signed a four-year, $2.99 million contract with the Seahawks on May 7, 2012. He made his preseason debut against the Tennessee Titans on August 11, 2012 and had his first preseason start on August 24 against the Kansas City Chiefs. On August 26, 2012, Wilson was named the starting quarterback for the first regular season game after competing with Matt Flynn and Tarvaris Jackson for the position.

On September 9, 2012, Wilson made his regular season debut in a 20-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Wilson threw 18 completions on 34 attempts for 153 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. In the third regular season game against the Green Bay Packers, the Seahawks won 14-12 on a controversial hail mary touchdown pass to Golden Tate. The contentious nature of the replacement officials' decision on the play is widely considered to have been the tipping point that led to an agreement being reached to end the 2012 NFL referee lockout.

Wilson earned Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week honors for his week 10 performance in a 28-7 win over the New York Jets. He threw 12 completions on 19 attempts for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns, along with 7 rushing attempts for 34 yards. Wilson was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week and FedEx Air Player of the Week for his week 13 performance in the 23-17 Seahawks win over the Chicago Bears. He earned NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month honors for December 2012 after the Seahawks went 5-0 and Wilson achieved a passer rating of 115.2.

Wilson finished the 2012 regular season ranked 4th in the NFL in passer rating (100.0), beating the previous rookie record set by Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 (98.1). He threw for 3,118 yards and 26 touchdowns, tying Peyton Manning's record for most touchdowns thrown by a rookie. Additionally, Wilson ran for 489 yards and four touchdowns, and his scrambling abilities earned numerous comparisons to Hall-of-Fame Quarterback Fran Tarkenton.

Wilson led the Seahawks to the playoffs in his first season. After leading a comeback and defeating the NFC East champion Washington Redskins in the wild card round, 24-14, Wilson and the Seahawks suffered a 30-28 loss to the NFC South champion Atlanta Falcons in the divisional round.

Wilson was selected as an alternate for the 2013 Pro Bowl filling in the previous spot for Matt Ryan. At the Pro Bowl, Wilson thew 8 completions on 10 attempts for 98 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions for a 147.1 rating.

NFL records and achievements

 * 2012 Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year.
 * Tied NFL rookie quarterback record for most passing touchdowns (26, tied with Peyton Manning).
 * Became 6th rookie quarterback in NFL history to win a playoff game.
 * 2nd most total touchdowns for a rookie quarterback (30).
 * 2nd highest passer rating for a rookie quarterback (100.0). Also only one of two rookie quarterbacks in NFL history to have a passer rating of 100 or higher.
 * 2012 Pro Bowl alternate

Endorsements
On April 26, 2012, Wilson announced he had chosen French/West/Vaughan as his marketing, public relations and endorsements agency. In September 2012, shortly after being named the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson filmed his first commercial for Levi's as part of its "Go Forth" campaign. The commercial debuted on September 18, 2012. On January 31, 2013, American Family Insurance announced that Wilson had signed a multi-year endorsement contract with the company and would appear in a commercial to debut during Super Bowl XLVII. Wilson also has an endorsement deal with Nike.

Personal life
Wilson married his long-time girlfriend Ashton Meem on January 14, 2012 in Richmond, Virginia. They have three dogs: a beagle, Penny, a dachshund, Cali, and a Great Dane. Wilson is a devout Christian, and often references his faith in press conferences and interviews. He also posts daily Bible verses on his Twitter feed.

When asked how he celebrated after learning he had won the starting quarterback job for the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson said he watched episodes of his favorite TV show, Entourage.

Charitable work
Wilson is an active volunteer in the Seattle community. During the NFL season, Wilson makes weekly visits on his days off to the Seattle Children's Hospital, and has also visited with soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. In the offseason, Wilson hosts the Russell Wilson Passing Academy, a youth football camp, in several cities. Proceeds from the camp go to the Charles Ray III Diabetes Association, for which Wilson is the National Ambassador.