Michael Wiley (born November 10, 2000) is an American 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 ...

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 ...

. 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

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

and signed with the

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

as an

undrafted 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 ...

in 2024.

Early life

Wiley was born on November 10, 2000, in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. He attended

Strake Jesuit College Preparatory Strake Jesuit College Preparatory (properly referred to as Strake Jesuit or Jesuit but often informally called Strake) is a Jesuit, college-preparatory school for boys, grades 9–12, in the Chinatown area and in the Greater Sharpstown district ...

where he lettered in football, basketball, and track. Coming out of high school, Wiley was rated as a three-star recruit where he garnered interest from schools such as Arizona, Iowa State, Utah, and Toledo. Wiley decided to commit to play

for the

College career

In week three of the 2020 season, Wiley had a breakout game rushing seven times for 123 yards. In Wiley's first three seasons in 2019, 2020, and 2021 he rushed 153 times for 630 yards and five touchdowns, while also notching 59 receptions for 495 yards and four touchdowns. In the 2022 regular-season finale, Wiley rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns, as he helped Arizona beat rival

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

. For his performance against Arizona State, Wiley was named the game's MVP. During the 2022 season, Wiley rushed for 771 yards and eight touchdowns, while also bringing in 36 receptions for 349 yards and three touchdowns. For his performance on the 2022 season, Wiley was named an all Pac-12 honorable mention. Wiley entered the 2023 season as a team Captain for the Wildcats. During the 2023 season, Wiley rushed for 311 yards and three touchdowns, while also hauling in 28 receptions for 306 yards and five touchdowns. Wiley finished his career at Arizona rushing for 1,712 yards and 16 touchdowns with 1,150 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.

Professional career

Wiley signed with the

as an

on April 29, 2024. He was also selected by the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The Defenders compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMaho ...

in the sixth round of the

2024 UFL draft The 2024 UFL draft, also known as the 2024 UFL college draft, was the first meeting of United Football League (UFL) franchises to select newly eligible players ahead of the 2025 UFL season. It was the first rookie draft since the league formed ...

on July 17. Wiley was waived by the team on August 27, and joined their

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the following day. He signed a futures contract with Washington on February 6, 2025. Wiley was released on July 22.

References

External links

Arizona Wildcats profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiley, Michael 2000 births 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen American football running backs Arizona Wildcats football players Living people Players of American football from Houston Strake Jesuit College Preparatory alumni Washington Commanders players