Gerris Wilkinson

Infobox NFLactive


currentteam=New York Giants
currentnumber=59
currentposition=Linebacker
birthdate=birth date and age|1983|4|5
birthplace=Oakland, California
heightft=6
heightin=3
weight=231
debutyear=2006
debutteam=New York Giants
college=Georgia Tech
highlights=
* Super Bowl champion (XLII)
draftyear=2006
draftround=3
draftpick=96
pastteams=
* New York Giants (2006-present)
status=Active
nfl=WIL100381

Gerris Vernard Bowers Wilkinson (born April 5, 1983 in city-state|Oakland|California) is an American football linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Giants in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia Tech.

College career

He played in 50 games with 37 starts for the Yellow Jackets and recorded 253 tackles (121 solo) and finished 14th on the school’s career list with 12.5 sacks for minus 83 yards. His 38 tackles for losses of 141 yards rank 7th on the school’s record list. He recorded a forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries, and he also deflected 6 passes and gained 46 yards on 3 interception returns. He was a Two-time team captain and led the squad in tackles in his last 2 years. He was also the 2-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection and began his career as an outside linebacker before starting his final 2 seasons at middle linebacker. As a strongside defensive end in 2003, he earned Academic All-ACC honors while starting every game. He also collected 47 tackles (24 solo) with 4 sacks, 12 stops for losses. Wilkinson also recovered 2 fumbles and batted away a pair of passes. In 2005, Wilkinson became only the 3rd player in the last 15 years to lead the team in tackles in back-to-back seasons. He was also the 2nd-team All-ACC pick and amassed 85 tackles (42 solo) and had 4 sacks with 9 stops for losses. He also intercepted 2 passes and deflected 2 others. He earned his degree in Management on May 7, 2005, and then played his final season while working on a 2nd degree in International Affairs. [ [http://www.giants.com/team/player212.html GERRIS WILKINSON LB COLLEGE:] ]

Professional career

New York Giants

Wilkinson was selected in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the New York Giants, and has played mostly at the outside linebacker position. As a rookie in 2006, he played in all 16 regular season games with 2 starts at weakside linebacker and finished with 15 tackles (10 solo), 2 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and 7 special teams tackles. In 2007, he played in 13 regular season games with no starts and in 4 postseason games with 1 start. He finished the regular season with 5 tackles (3 solo), 1 pass defensed and 7 special teams tackles. In his 1st career start vs. the Houston Texans he contributed 3 tackles and a forced fumble. His 4th quarter hit on Jameel Cook forced a fumble that was recovered by Corey Webster and ended the Texans’ final drive. In his second season in 2007, he was a key defensive force in winning the 2007 NFC wild card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, starting for the injured Kawika Mitchell and compiling a total of 8 tackles.

Wilkinson became the starting weakside linebecker for the Giants in 2008 after Mitchell left as a free agent.

References

External links

* [http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/wilkinson_gerris00.html Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets bio]
* [http://www.giants.com/team/player212.html Official New York Giants bio]
* [http://www.wilkinson59.com Gerris Wilkinson's Official Website]