Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson ( born November 29 , 1988 ) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League ( NFL ) . Wilson was selected by the Seahawks with the 12th pick in the third round ( 75th overall ) of the 2012 NFL Draft . Wilson played college football for the University of Wisconsin during the 2011 season , in which he set the single season FBS record for passing efficiency ( 191 . 8 ) and led the team to a Big Ten title and the 2012 Rose Bowl . Wilson received the Big Ten Quarterback of the Year award and was named a consensus first - team All - Big Ten and third - team All - America n by Yahoo ! Sports . Wilson played football and baseball for North Carolina State University before transferring to Wisconsin . In 2008 , he was named the ACC Rookie of the Year in football and became the first freshman quarterback to receive first team All - ACC honors . Wilson also played minor league baseball for the Tri - City Dust Devils in 2010 and the Asheville Tourists in 2011 as a second baseman . Wilson signed a four - year , $ 2 . 99 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks on May 7 , 2012 and was named the team ' s starting quarterback on August 26 , 2012 . In his rookie season Wilson led the Seahawks to a 11 - 5 regular season record and the divisional round of the NFL playoffs , and was named the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year . Early life and family . Wilson was born in Cincinnati , Ohio and grew up in Richmond , Virginia , the son of Harrison Benjamin Wilson III , a lawyer , and Tammy T . Wilson , a legal nurse consultant . He has an older brother , Harrison IV , and a younger sister , Anna . Wilson started playing football with his dad and brother at the age of four . Wilson ' s great - great - grandfather was a slave to a Confederate colonel and was freed after the Civil War . Wilson ' s grandfather , Harrison B . Wilson Jr . , is a former president of Norfolk State University who played football and basketball at Kentucky State University . His father played football and baseball at Dartmouth and was a wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers preseason squad in 1980 . Wilson ' s brother played football and baseball at the University of Richmond , and his sister is considered one of the top high school basketball prospects in the country . Wilson ' s father died on June 9 , 2010 at age 55 due to complications from diabetes . High school career . Wilson attended Collegiate School , a preparatory school in Richmond , Virginia . As a junior in 2005 , he threw for 3 , 287 yards and 40 touchdown s . He also rush ed for 634 yards and 15 touchdowns . He was named an all - district , all - region , and all - state player . Wilson was twice named the Richmond Times - Dispatch Player of the Year . As a senior in 2006 , he threw for 3 , 009 yards , 34 touchdowns , and seven interception s . Wilson also rushed for 1 , 132 yards and 18 touchdowns . That year , he was named an all - conference and all - state player as well as conference player of the year . He was featured in Sports Illustrated magazine for his performance in the state championship game win . Wilson also served as his senior class president . In addition to football , Wilson was also a member of the Collegiate basketball and baseball teams . Wilson committed to North Carolina State University on July 23 , 2006 . He also received a football scholarship offer from Duke University . College football career . NC State ( 2007 – 2010 ) . Wilson redshirted during the 2007 season at NC State . In 2008 , Wilson initially split time at quarterback with senior Daniel Evans and junior Harrison Beck . However , Evans and Beck saw no regular season action after Week 2 and Week 5 , respectively . Thereafter , Wilson led the team to a 4 – 3 record in the regular season which NC State finished out on a four - game winning streak . During a win over East Carolina , Wilson threw for 201 yards and three touchdowns . He threw for two touchdowns in each of the last six season games . In the 2008 PapaJohns . com Bowl against Rutgers , Wilson threw for 186 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 46 yards before halftime . Late in the first half , he scramble d to the Rutgers ' four - yard line , where he was tackled and suffered a knee sprain . With Wilson sitting out the remainder of the game , his replacements threw a combined total of three interceptions with NC State eventually losing , 23 – 29 . Over the course of the season , he completed 150 of 275 attempts for 1 , 955 yards and 17 touchdowns with just one interception . He also recorded 116 carries for 394 yards and four touchdowns . The Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) named him the first - team All - ACC quarterback . It was the first time in the conference ' s history that a freshman quarterback was named to the first team . Prior to the 2009 season , Wilson was named as the quarterback on the pre - season all - ACC football team on July 12 . On September 19 , Wilson broke Andre Woodson ' s all - time NCAA record of 325 consecutive pass attempts without an interception against Gardner - Webb . The 379 - pass streak ended in a game against Wake Forest on October 3 . Wilson held the record until November 10 , 2012 , when it was broken by Louisiana Tech quarterback Colby Cameron . Wilson led the 2010 Wolfpack to a 9 – 4 season that included a 23 - 7 win over West Virginia in the 2010 Champs Sports Bowl . He led the ACC in passing yards per game ( 274 . 1 ) and total offensive yards per game ( 307 . 5 ) . Wilson graduated from NC State in three years in May 2010 with a B . A . in communication , and took graduate - level business courses in the fall semester during the 2010 football season . In January 2011 , Wilson announced that he would report to spring training with the Colorado Rockies organization . NC State head coach Tom O ' Brien expressed reservations with Wilson ' s decision , saying " Russell and I have had very open conversations about his responsibilities respective to baseball and football . While I am certainly respectful of Russell ' s dedication to baseball these last several years , within those discussions I also communicated to him the importance of his time commitment to NC State football . " On April 29 , 2011 , O ' Brien announced that Wilson had been granted a release from his football scholarship with one year of eligibility remaining . Wisconsin ( 2011 ) . On June 27 , 2011 , Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema announced that Wilson had committed to Wisconsin for the 2011 season . In the season opener against UNLV , Wilson passed for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 51 – 17 victory . He also rushed for 62 yards , including a 46 yard touchdown run . At the end of the regular season , Wilson was named first team All - Big Ten by both the coaches and media . Wilson also won the Griese - Brees Big Ten Quarterback of the Year award . In the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game on December 3 , Wilson threw for 3 touchdowns and led the Badgers to a 42 - 39 win over the Michigan State Spartans . Wilson was named the game ' s Grange - Griffin MVP . In December 2011 , Wilson was named a third team All - American by Yahoo Sports , and he finished ninth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy with 52 points . In the 2012 Rose Bowl vs . the Oregon Ducks on January 2 , 2012 , Wilson had 19 pass completions on 25 attempts for 296 yards , 18 rushing yards , and 3 touchdowns ( 2 passing , 1 rushing ) . The Badgers lost the game 38 - 45 . Wilson finished the season with 33 passing touchdowns , which set the single season record at Wisconsin and was the second - most in Big Ten history behind Drew Brees during the 1998 season at Purdue ( 39 ) . Wilson also set the single season FBS record for passing efficiency ( 191 . 8 ) . On January 28 , 2012 , Wilson completed his college football career at the 2012 Senior Bowl . Baseball career . After graduating from high school , Wilson was selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the 5th pick in the 41st round ( 1222nd overall ) of the 2007 MLB Draft . Wilson instead elected to attend NC State that fall . In a 2008 interview Wilson said , " I was leaning towards [ entering the draft ] , but a college education is something you ' ll always have . " College baseball . Wilson was a member of the NC State Wolfpack baseball team from 2008 - 2010 . Tri - City Dust Devils . On June 8 , 2010 , Wilson was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the fourth round ( 140th pick overall ) of the 2010 MLB Draft . That summer he played 32 games as a second baseman for the Tri - City Dust Devils , the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Rockies in the Northwest League . He finished the season with 2 home runs , 11 runs batted in ( RBIs ) , and a . 230 batting average . Asheville Tourists . In the summer of 2011 , Wilson played 61 games with the Asheville Tourists , the Class A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies in the South Atlantic League . He had 3 home runs , 15 RBIs , and a . 228 batting average . In January 2012 , Wilson informed the Rockies that he would be pursuing a career in the NFL and would not report to spring training for the 2012 season . NFL career . 2012 NFL Draft . On January 16 , 2012 , Wilson began training for the NFL Scouting Combine at the IMG Madden Football Academy in Bradenton , Florida . Prior to the 2012 NFL Draft , Wilson had been projected by NFL scouts and analysts to be a middle - round pick . In February 2012 , former NFL quarterback and director of the IMG Madden Football Academy Chris Weinke said of Wilson , " If he was 6 - 5 , he ' d probably be the No . 1 pick in the draft . " On April 11 , 2012 , ESPN " Monday Night Football " analyst Jon Gruden said , " The only issue with Russell Wilson is his height . That might be the reason he ' s not picked in the first couple rounds . " On April 27 , 2012 , Wilson was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round ( 75th pick overall ) of the draft . 2012 season . Wilson signed a four - year , $ 2 . 99 million contract with the Seahawks on May 7 , 2012 . He made his preseason debut against the Tennessee Titans on August 11 , 2012 and had his first preseason start on August 24 against the Kansas City Chiefs . On August 26 , 2012 , Wilson was named the starting quarterback for the first regular season game after competing with Matt Flynn and Tarvaris Jackson for the position . On September 9 , 2012 , Wilson made his regular season debut in a 20 - 16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals . Wilson threw 18 completions on 34 attempts for 153 yards , 1 touchdown and 1 interception . In the third regular season game against the Green Bay Packers , the Seahawks won 14 - 12 on a controversial hail mary touchdown pass to Golden Tate . The contentious nature of the replacement officials ' decision on the play is widely considered to have been the tipping point that led to an agreement being reached to end the 2012 NFL referee lockout . Wilson earned Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week honors for his week 10 performance in a 28 - 7 win over the New York Jets . He threw 12 completions on 19 attempts for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns , along with 7 rushing attempts for 34 yards . Wilson was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week and FedEx Air Player of the Week for his week 13 performance in the 23 - 17 Seahawks win over the Chicago Bears . He earned NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month honors for December 2012 after the Seahawks went 5 - 0 and Wilson achieved a passer rating of 115 . 2 . Wilson finished the 2012 regular season ranked 4th in the NFL in passer rating ( 100 . 0 ) , beating the previous rookie record set by Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 ( 98 . 1 ) . He threw for 3 , 118 yards and 26 touchdowns , tying Peyton Manning ' s record for most touchdowns thrown by a rookie . Additionally , Wilson ran for 489 yards and four touchdowns , and his scrambling abilities earned numerous comparisons to Hall - of - Fame Quarterback Fran Tarkenton . Wilson led the Seahawks to the playoffs in his first season . After leading a comeback and defeating the NFC East champion Washington Redskins in the wild card round , 24 - 14 , Wilson and the Seahawks suffered a 30 - 28 loss to the NFC South champion Atlanta Falcons in the divisional round . Wilson was selected as an alternate for the 2013 Pro Bowl filling in the previous spot for Matt Ryan . At the Pro Bowl , Wilson thew 8 completions on 10 attempts for 98 yards , 3 touchdowns , and no interceptions for a 147 . 1 rating . Endorsements . On April 26 , 2012 , Wilson announced he had chosen French / West / Vaughan as his marketing , public relations and endorsements agency . In September 2012 , shortly after being named the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks , Wilson filmed his first commercial for Levi ' s as part of its " Go Forth " campaign . The commercial debuted on September 18 , 2012 . On January 31 , 2013 , American Family Insurance announced that Wilson had signed a multi - year endorsement contract with the company and would appear in a commercial to debut during Super Bowl XLVII . Wilson also has an endorsement deal with Nike . Personal life . Wilson married his long - time girlfriend Ashton Meem on January 14 , 2012 in Richmond , Virginia . They have three dogs : a beagle , Penny , a dachshund , Cali , and a Great Dane . Wilson is a devout Christian , and often references his faith in press conferences and interviews . He also posts daily Bible verses on his Twitter feed . When asked how he celebrated after learning he had won the starting quarterback job for the Seattle Seahawks , Wilson said he watched episodes of his favorite TV show , " Entourage " . Charitable work . Wilson is an active volunteer in the Seattle community . During the NFL season , Wilson makes weekly visits on his days off to the Seattle Children ' s Hospital , and has also visited with soldiers at Joint Base Lewis - McChord . In the offseason , Wilson hosts the Russell Wilson Passing Academy , a youth football camp , in several cities . Proceeds from the camp go to the Charles Ray III Diabetes Association , for which Wilson is the National Ambassador .