Gerris Wilkinson Gerris Vernard Bowers Wilkinson ( born April 5 , 1983 in Oakland , California ) is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent . He was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft . He played college football at Georgia Tech . He has also been a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars . Early years . Wilkinson was a SuperPreps First - team All - America and a Second - team All - state and First - team All - city and All - East Bay . He made 127 tackles as a senior with six sacks , four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries . He added 85 tackles and eight sacks as a junior . College career . He played in 50 games with 37 starts for the Yellow Jackets and recorded 253 tackles ( 121 solo , ) 12 . 5 sacks , 38 tackles for losses . He also recorded a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries , and he also deflected six passes and gained 46 yards on three interception returns . He was a two - time team captain and led the squad in tackles in his last two years . He was also the two - time Second - team All - Atlantic Coast Conference selection and began his career as an outside linebacker before starting his final two seasons at middle linebacker . As a strongside defensive end in 2003 , he earned Academic All - ACC honors while starting every game . He also collected 47 tackles ( 24 solo ) with four sacks , 12 stops for losses . Wilkinson also recovered two fumbles and batted away a pair of passes . In 2004 he was a Second - team All - Atlantic Coast Conference selection after making 119 tackles . In 2005 , Wilkinson became only the third player in the last 15 years to lead the team in tackles in back - to - back seasons . He was also the Second - team All - ACC pick and amassed 85 tackles ( 42 solo ) and had four sacks with nine stops for losses . He also intercepted two passes and deflected two others . He earned his degree in Management on May 7 , 2005 , and then played his final season while working on a second degree in International Affairs . Professional career . Pre - draft . 365 - pound bench press . 475 - pound squat New York Giants . Wilkinson was selected in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the New York Giants . He signed a four - year , $ 1 . 7 million contract with the Giants on July 26 , 2006 . As a rookie in 2006 , he played in all 16 regular season games with two starts at weakside linebacker and finished with 15 tackles ( ten solo ) , two passes deflected , two forced fumbles and seven special teams tackles . In 2007 , he played in 13 regular season games with no starts and in four postseason games with one start . He finished the regular season with five tackles ( three solo ) , one pass deflected and seven special teams tackles . In his first career start vs . the Houston Texans he contributed three tackles and a forced fumble . His fourth quarter hit on Jameel Cook forced a fumble that was recovered by Corey Webster and ended the Texans ’ final drive . In his second season in 2007 , he was a key defensive force in winning the 2007 NFC wild card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , starting for the injured Kawika Mitchell and compiling a total of eight tackles . Wilkinson became the starting weakside linebecker for the Giants in 2008 after Mitchell left as a free agent . In 2008 , he played in 8 regular season games with 5 starts before injuring a knee that caused him to sit out the remainder of the season and finished with 11 tackles ( 4 solo ) and 2 special teams tackles . Following the 2010 season , he became an unrestricted free agent . Jacksonville Jaguars . On August 13 , 2011 , Wilkinson signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars . He was waived on August 29 .