Aldra Kauwa Wilson (born June 21, 1977) is an American former professional

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 ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for eight seasons with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

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

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

, earning consensus

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. Wilson was selected by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the

1999 NFL draft The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...

, and played his entire professional career for the Broncos. He was a five-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

selection and a two-time

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

selection.

Early life

Wilson was born in

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. He was an

All-America 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 ...

n performer at

Jackson Central-Merry High School Jackson Central-Merry Middle and High School also known as (JCMMS, JCMHS, JCM 6-12 or JCM) is both a middle school and high school located in Jackson, Tennessee, United States. The school was active as a high school from 1970 to 2016, during whi ...

in Jackson, as named by BlueChip Illustrated, Max Emfinger, SuperPrep, and recruiting analyst

Tom Lemming Tom Lemming is an American high school football recruiting analyst. Tom Lemming serves as the host of ''The Lemming Report'' on CBS Sports Network, the only national weekly high school football recruiting show. He is the editor of ''The Tom Lemmin ...

. In addition, he was named to the Tennessee all-state team. Wilson was both a

and

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 ...

at Jackson Central-Merry, rushing for 1,160 yards and 15 touchdowns in his senior season. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in three seasons in

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, two as a running back and one as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. In addition to football, he starred in track and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

College career

Wilson attended the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

, and played for coach

Phillip Fulmer Phillip Edward Fulmer Sr. (born September 1, 1950) is a former American football player, coach, and athletic director at the University of Tennessee. He served as head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers football team from 1992 to 2008, compiling ...

Tennessee Volunteers football The Tennessee Volunteers football program (variously called "Vols," "UT" and "Big Orange") represents the University of Tennessee (UT). The Vols have played football for 132 seasons, starting in 1891; their combined record of 870–415–53 ( ...

team from 1995 to 1998. He was a

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

on the 1998 Tennessee team that won the

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

in the

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971. From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has be ...

over

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

and back-to-back

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) championships in the

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and 1998 seasons. Wilson was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American in 1998 after being a three-year starter for the Volunteers. Wilson was known for his leadership. For his efforts on the field, on December 7, 2021, Wilson was inducted into the

National Football Foundation The National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit organization to promote amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and develop "the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the drive for academi ...

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

Professional career

Wilson was drafted after his final year at Tennessee as the 31st pick in the first round of the

and signed to the Denver Broncos due to the assistance of super agent Tank Black.

Denver Broncos

Over the course of his professional career, Wilson was the anchor of the Broncos' defense. Wilson made his NFL debut against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

in the Broncos' 1999 season opener. He recorded his first sack in Week 5 against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. He finished the 1999 season with 77 total tackles, four passes defended, and two forced fumbles. In his second season, he had five sacks, 61 total tackles, three interceptions, and eight passes defended in 15 games of the 2000 season. Wilson had three sacks, 85 total tackles, and five passes defended in the 2001 season. He earned his first Pro Bowl nomination. In the 2002 season, Wilson had five sacks, 132 total tackles (100 solo), four passes defended, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. He led the team in tackles and earned his second Pro Bowl nomination. In the 2003 season, Wilson led the Broncos in tackles for the second consecutive year with 88. He earned his third consecutive Pro Bowl nomination for his performance in the 2003 season. In Week 11 of the 2004 season, against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, Wilson had a seven-yard pick six for his first NFL touchdown. In the 2004 season, Wilson had 2.5 sacks, 105 total tackles, two interceptions, five passes defended, and two forced fumbles. Wilson earned a fourth Pro Bowl nomination for his 2005 season, where he had three sacks, 73 total tackles, nine passes defended, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. He earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 4 against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, where he had two forced fumbles. He was named as a first team All-Pro for 2005. On December 3, 2006, Wilson suffered a neck injury during a fake field goal attempt against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

during the ''Sunday Night Football'' game. He was carted off the field and immediately taken to a hospital, but was cleared by the Denver Broncos to return the following week to help Denver try to make the playoffs. Wilson led the team in tackles with 102 in the 2006 season. He earned his fifth Pro Bowl nomination. The Denver Broncos signed many free agents during the 2007 offseason, such as running back

Travis Henry Travis Deion Henry (born October 29, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers. He was select ...

and quarterback

Patrick Ramsey Patrick Allen Ramsey (born February 14, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave and was selected by the Washing ...

, resulting in some

salary cap In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Seve ...

trouble. The Broncos attempted to trade Wilson to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, but Wilson failed his physical and the trade talks died down. Wilson was released by the Denver Broncos on April 13, 2007, due to injuries and salary cap problems.

Free agency and retirement

Wilson was cleared to return to resume playing by

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

back specialist Bob Watkins in January 2008. On February 12, he had his first visit of the offseason with 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 ...

. He also visited the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in March, but he rejected their offer for close to the veteran minimum. Wilson officially announced his retirement from professional football on September 10, 2008.

NFL statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

After his career with the Denver Broncos ended, Wilson started a career as a Colorado football executive. Wilson became the co-owner of Project FANchise, which puts fans in control of professional teams. In addition, he acquired the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

’s Colorado Crush.

References

External links

Tennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Al 1977 births Living people All-American college football players American Conference Pro Bowl players American football linebackers Denver Broncos players Players of American football from Jackson, Tennessee Tennessee Volunteers football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees