Antonio Demarcus Wilson (born December 29, 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 ...

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 ...

who played for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

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) from 2000 to 2002. He was selected by the Vikings in the fourth round of the

2000 NFL draft The 2000 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Theat ...

after playing

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

Texas A&M–Commerce Lions The East Texas A&M Lions (formerly the East Texas State Lions and Texas A&M–Commerce Lions) are the athletic teams that represent East Texas A&M University, located in Commerce, Texas, in NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports. The Lions comp ...

. He was also a member of the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

of the NFL and the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

Early life

Antonio Demarcus Wilson was born on December 29, 1977, in

Seagoville, Texas Seagoville ( ) is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Dallas. A small portion of Seagoville extends into Kaufman County. The population was 18,446 at the 2020 census. The city is located along U.S. Highway 175, from ...

. He attended Skyline High School in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

College career

Wilson played

for the

Texas A&M–Commerce East Texas A&M University (ETAMU; formerly Texas A&M University–Commerce) is a public university in Commerce, Texas, United States. With an enrollment of over 12,000 students as of fall 2017, the university is the third-largest institution in ...

from 1996 to 1999 and was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 1995. He was a three-time All-

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the South Central states, with schools in Texas ...

(LSC) selection and was also the LSC Defensive Lineman of the Year in 1999. Wilson was also named a first-team

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 ...

by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

his senior year. He tied Danny Kirk for the school record for career tackles with 348. Wilson was inducted into the Texas A&M University-Commerce Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Wilson was selected by the

in the fourth round, with the 106th overall pick, of the

. He officially signed with the team on July 21. He played in one game during the 2000 season but recorded no statistics. Wilson was allocated to

NFL Europe 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 2001 to play for the

Barcelona Dragons Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Barcelona Dragons: * Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe) The Barcelona Dragons were an American football team that was a part of the World League of American Football and later in the res ...

during the

2001 NFL Europe season The 2001 NFL Europe season was the ninth season in 11 years of the American Football league that started out as the World League of American Football. World Bowl IX Berlin 24-17 Barcelona Saturday, June 30, 2001 Amsterdam ArenA The Joha ...

. He totaled 29 defensive tackles, two special teams tackles, two sacks, one interception, and five pass breakups for the Dragons in 2001. He was waived by the Vikings on September 2, 2001, and signed to the team's practice squad on September 4. He was promoted to the active roster on October 9 and was waived on October 25. Wilson was re-signed by the Vikings on October 30, 2001. Overall, he appeared in 10 games for the Vikings in 2001, recording six solo tackles, four assisted tackles, and one pass breakup. Wilson was waived on September 17, 2002, but re-signed on September 24, 2002. He played in five games, including his only career NFL start, in 2002, totaling eight solo tackles and two assisted tackles. Wilson was released by the Vikings on February 27, 2003.

Houston Texans

Wilson signed with the

on March 24, 2003. He was waived on August 26, 2003.

Edmonton Eskimos

Wilson dressed in two games for the

of the

in 2004 and made two special teams tackles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Antonio 1977 births Living people American football linebackers Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe) players Edmonton Elks players Minnesota Vikings players Players of American football from Dallas County, Texas East Texas A&M Lions football players 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen Houston Texans players American football defensive linemen