Born on November 29, 1988, Russell Carrington Wilson is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League.
After the American Civil War, the great-great-grandfather of Wilson who was a slave to a Confederate colonel was set free.
Wilson’s maternal grandmother, Anna W. Wilson, was a professor at Jackson State University, and his paternal grandpa, Harrison B. Wilson Jr., was a former president of Norfolk State University who also played basketball and football for Kentucky State University. A. B. Jackson, a well-known painter, was Wilson’s maternal grandfather.
Wilson’s father was a wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers preseason team in 1980 as well as a football and baseball player at Dartmouth.
Wilson’s sister Anna played basketball at Stanford, while his brother Harry played baseball and football for the University of Richmond. The day after Wilson was selected by the Rockies, on June 9, 2010, Wilson’s father passed away at age 55 from complications brought on by diabetes.
Wilson attended Richmond, Virginia’s Collegiate School, a prep school. He threw for 3,287 passing yards and 40 touchdowns as a junior in 2005, while also rushing for 634 yards and 15 scores. He was selected as an all-state, all-region, and all-district performer. Wilson won the Richmond Times-Dispatch Player of the Year award twice.
Wilson started his preparation for the NFL Scouting Combine on January 16, 2012, at the IMG Madden Football Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Wilson was predicted by NFL scouts and analysts to go in the middle rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft.
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.”
Where Is Russell Wilson Now: What Team Is Russell Wilson On?
He currently plays for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL).