Introduction
Jeffrey "Jeff" Wilson Jr. (born November 16, 1995) is an American football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Texas and signed with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2018.
Early life
Wilson attended and played high school football at Elkhart High School in Texas. He was named an AP Class 2A first-team all-state as a senior after rushing for 2,749 yards and 36 touchdowns. He received offers from North Texas, Louisiana-Monroe, New Mexico State, and Texas State. He chose to play college football for North Texas.
College career
Wilson appeared in 41 games (29 starts) during his four-year career at North Texas. He rushed for 3,205 yards and 32 touchdowns on 562 attempts, while adding 70 receptions for 527 yards and two touchdowns. He finished his college career ranked third in rushing touchdowns (32) and fourth in rushing yards (3,205) in school history.
Collegiate statistics
| Jeff Wilson | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 2014 | North Texas | CUSA | FR | RB | 9 | 50 | 224 | 4.5 | 1 | 5 | 41 | 8.2 | 1 |
| 2015 | North Texas | CUSA | SO | RB | 10 | 154 | 829 | 5.4 | 1 | 12 | 71 | 5.9 | 0 |
| 2016 | North Texas | CUSA | JR | RB | 11 | 169 | 936 | 5.5 | 14 | 29 | 247 | 8.5 | 1 |
| 2017 | North Texas | CUSA | SR | RB | 11 | 188 | 1215 | 6.5 | 16 | 24 | 168 | 7.0 | 0 |
| Career | North Texas | 41 | 561 | 3204 | 5.7 | 32 | 70 | 527 | 7.5 | 2 | |||
Professional career
2018 season: Rookie year
Wilson signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent on May 1, 2018. He was waived on September 1, 2018 and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on November 24, 2018.
Wilson made his NFL debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12. He had seven carries for 33 rushing yards in the loss. He finished his rookie year with 266 rushing yards and 98 receiving yards.
2019 season
On August 31, 2019, Wilson was waived by the 49ers and was signed to the practice squad the next day.
On September 14, 2019, Wilson was promoted to the active roster due to an ankle injury suffered by Tevin Coleman in the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During Week 2 on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals, Wilson rushed 10 times for 34 yards and two touchdowns as the 49ers won by a score of 41-17. In the next game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Wilson rushed eight times for 18 yards and two touchdowns in the 24-20 victory. During a Week 11 36-26 victory against the Arizona Cardinals, Wilson caught the game-winning touchdown from Jimmy Garoppolo for his first NFL receiving touchdown.
NFL statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2018 | SF | 6 | 2 | 66 | 266 | 4.0 | 18 | 0 | 12 | 98 | 8.2 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 2019 | SF | 8 | 0 | 27 | 105 | 3.9 | 25 | 4 | 2 | 27 | 13.5 | 25T | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 14 | 2 | 93 | 371 | 4.0 | 25 | 4 | 14 | 125 | 8.9 | 25T | 1 | 3 | 2 | |