Eric Wilson (Canadian football)

{{Short description|American gridiron football player (born 1978)}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Eric Wilson

| image = Eric Wilson (Canadian football).jpg

| caption = Wilson in 2007

| number = 36

| position = Defensive tackle

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|1|30}}

| birth_place = Monroe, Michigan, U.S.

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 4

| weight_lbs = 300

| college = Michigan

| undraftedyear = 2001

| pastteams =

Detroit Lions ({{NFL Year|2001}})*
Winnipeg Blue Bombers ({{CFL Year|2002}}–{{CFL Year|2003}})
Miami Dolphins ({{NFL Year|2004}}–{{NFL Year|2005}})
→ Hamburg Sea Devils ({{NFLE Year|2005}}){{cite web |title=Eric Wilson |url=https://www.profootballarchives.com/players/w/wils05230.html |website=Pro Football Archives |access-date=12 September 2024}}
Winnipeg Blue Bombers ({{CFL Year|2006}})
Saskatchewan Roughriders ({{CFL Year|2007}})*
Montreal Alouettes (2007–{{CFL Year|2011}})

| highlights =

2× Grey Cup champion (2009, 2010)

| cflstatus = Import

| cfl-archive = https://web.archive.org/web/20120211211910/http://www.cfl.ca/roster/show/id/927

}}

Eric Wilson (born January 30, 1978) is an American former professional football player. He played college football as a defensive lineman at the University of Michigan from 1997 to 2000. He played professional football in the Canadian Football League, principally as a defensive tackle, for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 2002 to 2003 and 2006 and the Montreal Alouettes from 2007 to 2011. He won two Grey Cup championships with the Alouettes.

Early life

Wilson was born in 1978, grew up in Monroe, Michigan, and attended Monroe High School.{{Cite web |title=Michigan Football Roster Database |url=https://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/rosters/football.php |access-date=April 10, 2015 |publisher=University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library}} He graduated in 1996.

University of Michigan

Wilson enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1996 and played college football for the Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1997 to 2000. After redshirting in 1996, Wilson appeared in eight games,{{Cite web |title=Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page |url=http://stats.ath.umich.edu/football/footstart.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112175906/http://stats.ath.umich.edu/football/footstart.php |archive-date=November 12, 2007 |access-date=April 10, 2015 |publisher=University of Michigan}}(to retrieve Wilson's statistics, enter "wilson" in the box for the player's last name and "eric" in the box for player's first name) none as a starter, for the undefeated 1997 Michigan Wolverines football team that finished the season ranked #1 in the final AP Poll.{{Cite web |title=1997 Football Team |url=https://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1997fbt.htm |access-date=April 10, 2015 |publisher=University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library}} He started two games at defensive tackle in 1998 and seven in 1999.{{Cite web |title=1998 Football Team |url=https://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1998fbt.htm |access-date=April 10, 2015 |publisher=University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library}}{{Cite web |title=1999 Football Team |url=https://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1999fbt.htm |access-date=April 10, 2015 |publisher=University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library}} As a senior, he was a co-captain of the 2000 Michigan team and started five games at nose tackle.{{Cite web |title=2000 Football Team |url=https://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/2000fbt.htm |access-date=April 10, 2015 |publisher=University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library}} In four years at Michigan, Wilson recorded 78 tackles, two pass breakups, and three fumble recoveries.

Professional football

In April 2001, Wilson was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2001.{{Cite news |date=April 28, 2001 |title=Lions sign Monroe's Wilson |work=Toledo Blade |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=20010428&id=pl1IAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xgMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5497,3625918&hl=en}} In 2002, Wilson signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played for the Blue Bombers as a defensive tackle from 2002 to 2003, spent two years with the Miami Dolphins in 2004 and 2005,{{Cite news |last=Jeff Meade |date=May 27, 2012 |title=Wilson retires after 11 seasons as a pro |work=Monroe News |url=http://www.monroenews.com/news/2012/may/27/wilson-retires-after-11-seasons-pro/?monroe-high-school |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413223131/http://www.monroenews.com/news/2012/may/27/wilson-retires-after-11-seasons-pro/?monroe-high-school |archive-date=April 13, 2015}} and returned to Winnipeg in 2006.{{Cite web |title=Players A-Z |url=http://www.cflapedia.com/ |access-date=April 10, 2015 |publisher=CFLapedia}}{{Cite web |title=Eric Wilson Statistics |url=http://en.montrealalouettes.com/roster/show/id/927 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212093150/http://en.montrealalouettes.com/roster/show/id/927 |archive-date=February 12, 2012 |access-date=April 10, 2015 |publisher=Montreal Alouettes}} In 2007, Wilson was signed as a free agent by the Montreal Alouettes.{{Cite web |date=May 22, 2011 |title=Eric Wilson Announces His Retirement |url=http://en.montrealalouettes.com/article/eric-wilson-announces-his-retirement |publisher=Montreal Alouettes |access-date=May 22, 2012 |archive-date=April 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411003447/http://en.montrealalouettes.com/article/eric-wilson-announces-his-retirement |url-status=dead }} He played five seasons for the Alouettes, playing on both offense and defense, from 2007 to 2011 and helped the team win consecutive Grey Cup championships in 2009 and 2010. He announced his retirement from football in May 2012.