Eric LaShawn Wilkerson (born December 19, 1966) is an American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

who played one season with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Kent State Golden Flashes The Kent State Golden Flashes are the athletic teams that represent Kent State University. The university fields 19 varsity athletic teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division I, Division I level with footba ...

. He was also a member of the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, the New York/New Jersey Knights and the

Cleveland Thunderbolts The Cleveland Thunderbolts were an arena football team based in Richfield, Ohio. The Thunderbolts were founded in 1991 and were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL). In 1994, the franchise relocated to Columbus The team played for four ...

Early life

Wilkerson lettered in football and track all four years for the Cleveland Central Catholic High School Ironmen. He rushed for nearly 1,300 yards and 17 touchdowns his senior year. He also finished fourth in the state track meet in the 400 meters. Wilkerson earned All-Conference and All-Scholastic honors. He has been inducted into the school's hall of fame.

College career

Wilkerson played for the

from 1985 to 1988, recording career totals of 3,830 yards and 36 touchdowns on 739 rushing attempts. He also accumulated two kick return touchdowns, two passing touchdowns and 506 receiving yards on 44 receptions. He was named the

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Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in 1987 after rushing for 1,221 yards and ten touchdowns. Wilkerson led the MAC in rushing yards in 1988 with 1,325 and in rushing touchdowns with 14. He earned First-team All-MAC honors three times during his college career. He also earned AP Honorable Mention

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 1987 and 1988. Wilkerson was selected to play in the

East-West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

following his senior season. He was inducted into the Varsity "K" Hall of Fame in 1995. His number 40 was retired by the Golden Flashes on March 1, 1989.

Professional career

Wilkerson signed with the

on May 11, 1989. He later converted to

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He was released by the Steelers on September 4, 1989, and signed to the team's practice squad on September 6, 1989. Wilkerson played in one game for the Steelers during the 1989 season. He was also active for the team's two postseason games that year. He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

after the 1989 season. Wilkerson then signed with the

during the 1990 off-season. He was released by the Lions on September 3, 1990, and re-signed by the team later. Wilkerson was selected by the New York/New Jersey Knights of the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

in the 1991 WLAF Draft. He led the league in rushing with 717 yards in 1991 and garnered Second-team All-World League accolades. He also tied for the league lead with eleven total touchdowns after recording seven rushing and four receiving scores. Wilkerson recorded 404 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns in 1992. Wilkerson played for the

in 1993, recording five tackles, one pass breakup and one interception.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkerson, Eric Living people 1966 births Players of American football from Cleveland American football running backs American football wide receivers American football defensive backs Kent State Golden Flashes football players Pittsburgh Steelers players New York/New Jersey Knights players Cleveland Thunderbolts players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen