Gillis R. Wilson III (born October 15, 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 ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He was selected by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

in the fifth 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 ...

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It i ...

. Wilson was also a member of 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 ...

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

Rhein Fire Rhein Fire may refer to either of two American football franchises: * Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany ...

Georgia Force The Georgia Force was an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States (part of suburban Atlanta) that played in the South Division of the American Conference. The team was owned by Doug MacGregor and Donn ...

, Kansas City Brigade,

Grand Rapids Rampage The Grand Rapids Rampage was an arena football team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The team began play in 1998 in the Arena Football League as an expansion team. They were last coached by Steve Thonn. Their home arena was the Van Andel Arena ...

and

Dallas Vigilantes The Dallas Vigilantes were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Dallas, Texas. Like its AFL predecessor, the Dallas Desperados, the Vigilantes played at the American Airlines Center. The Vigilantes and the Jacksonville Sharks began pla ...

Early life and college

Gillis R. Wilson III was born on October 15, 1977, in

Morgan City, Louisiana Morgan City is a small city in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States, located in the Acadiana region. The population was 11,472 at the 2020 census. Known for being "right in the middle of everywhere", Morgan City is located southeast of ...

. He attended Patterson High School in

Patterson, Louisiana Patterson is a city in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,112 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area. History During the early 19th century, a group of Pennsylvania Dutchm ...

. He was a member of the

Southern Jaguars The Southern Jaguars and Lady Jaguars represent Southern University in NCAA intercollegiate athletics. Southern University's 13 athletic teams participate in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) which is a part of the NCAA Division I. Footb ...

from 1996 to 1999. He did not play in any games in 1996.

Professional career

Wilson was drafted by the

with the 147th pick in the

. He moved to the active roster on December 21, 2000. He was released by the Panthers on August 28, 2001. Wilson was signed to the

' practice squad on October 4, 2001. He was signed off the Giants' practice squad by the Carolina Panthers on November 20, 2001. He signed with the

on July 31, 2002. Wilson was released by the Cardinals on August 26, 2002. He was acquired by the

in the

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

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 ...

Free Agent Draft. He was signed by the

on November 26, 2003. Wilson was named Second-team

All-Arena An All-Arena Team, an all-star team consisting of the best players of their position was selected every season in the Arena Football League (AFL). Teams * 1987 All-Arena Team, 1987 * 1988 All-Arena Team, 1988 * 1989 All-Arena Team, 1989 * 1990 Al ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. He was traded to the Kansas City Brigade on March 20, 2006. He was released by the Brigade on February 26, 2007. Wilson signed with the

on March 1, 2007. He was signed by the Kansas City Brigade on March 6, 2008. He signed with the

on June 8, 2010.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Gillis Living people 1977 births American football defensive ends Southern Jaguars football players Carolina Panthers players New York Giants players Arizona Cardinals players Rhein Fire players Georgia Force players Kansas City Brigade players Grand Rapids Rampage players Dallas Vigilantes players Players of American football from Louisiana People from Patterson, Louisiana Sportspeople from St. Mary Parish, Louisiana 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen American expatriate sportspeople in Germany