Russell Wilson Stands In Background

Russell Carrington Wilson (November 29, 1988-) tied Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning for most touchdown passes thrown by a rookie, has the most touchdown passes in his first two seasons than any other NFL in history and is the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to top the 100.0 passer-rating mark in his first two seasons in the NFL. Ironically, Wilson faced Manning in Super Bowl XLVIII – his first NFL title game and only the second in franchise history. As a high school junior and senior at Collegiate School in Richmond, Virginia, Russell threw for 6,296 yards and 74 touchdowns and rushed for another 1,766 yards and 33 TDs to earn All-Conference and All-State honors while also leading his 2006 team to the Virginia State Championship. Excelling in both football and baseball, Wilson then attended North Carolina State University where he split time at quarterback in his sophomore season. In the spring, Russell was also a standout on the Wolfpack’s baseball team playing second base. Russell graduated from NC State in three years having thrown for 8,545 yards and 76 touchdowns and rushed for 1,089 yards and another 17 scores. In the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft, the Colorado Rockies took Russell in the third round and after stating his intentions to attend training camp, NC State released him of his final year of eligibility to play college football. Though he played briefly in the Rockies minor league system in 2010, he committed and transferred to the University of Wisconsin in January of 2011. At Wisconsin, Wilson led the Badgers to an 11-3 record and won the Griese-Brees Big Ten Quarterback of the Year Award, was named a third team All-American and finished ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting. His 33 TD passes were second only to Purdue’s Drew Brees’ 39 in 1998.

The Seattle Seahawks then took Russell in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft, despite criticism of his 5’11” height. Wilson quickly changed the critics’ minds as he was named the 2012 Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year, the PFF Offensive Player of the Year and earned his first of two trips to the NFL Pro Bowl. In only his first three seasons, Wilson has led the Seattle Seahawks to the playoffs each year as well as the first Super Bowl victory in franchise history in 2013 when the Seahawks dismantled the favored Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII. In 2014, Russell and the Seahawks again reached the big game, but lost to the New England Patriots following a questionable play called in the waning seconds of the game with Seattle inside the red zone down only 24-28. Rather than hand off to running back Marshawn Lynch on the one-yard line, Coach Pete Carroll called for a passing play, which was broken up, ultimately giving the Pats their fourth Super Bowl title in franchise history.