JC Smith alum Emanuel Wilson adjusts to NFL regimen

EVAN SIEGLE | GREEN BAY PACKERS

Emanuel Wilson, a North Mecklenburg High graduate who played at Johnson C. Smith and Fort Valley State, is making the adjustment as a Green Bay Packers running back. Wilson was activated off injured reserve Wednesday, is eligible to return to the 53-player roster ahead of Sunday's game at the Carolina Panthers.

For the first time in four years, Emanuel Wilson’s in Charlotte for homecoming.

Wilson, a Green Bay Packers rookie who played football at North Mecklenburg and a season at Johnson C. Smith, is excited to greet family and friends when his team takes the field against the Carolina Panthers Sunday.

“It means a lot,” he said. “It’s like playing in high school again when they’d come to the games, but it means a lot just because they don’t really get to see me play in person while I’m traveling or playing [in Green Bay].”

Wilson, an All-CIAA running back and conference offensive rookie of the year in 2019 after rushing for 1,040 yards and 13 touchdowns in his lone season with the Golden Bulls, transferred to Fort Valley State, where he earned All-SIAC and All-America accolades. Wilson earned a spot on the Packers’ opening day roster after leading the NFL in preseason rushing yards (223), followed with 14 carries for 85 yards in the regular season as understudy to Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon. There’s a big difference between Division II Black colleges and the NFL, but Wilson is handling the transition.

“The adjustment is different,” he said. “A lot of players are working. I’m in a league and team with some of the best in the world, so, it’s been a huge adjustment. When I first came out, it was kind of hard for me and everything, but I adjusted pretty well. Just having like A.J. Dillon and Aaron Jones guide me along the way, it’s been a good adjustment for me.”

Even while sidelined, Wilson’s education didn’t stop. He found taking a full-time approach to football requires meeting physical and mental demands daily with the Packers (6-8), who need to run their last three games to have a chance at the postseason.

“The speed of the game, there’s always going to be the speed but the biggest adjustment I’d say is really trying to learn quickly,” he said. “A lot of people don’t learn as fast as others. Sometimes it takes time but also, like during college you’ll be a big fish in a little pond. Now you’re a little fish in a big pond with a lot of big fishes.”

That means getting into position to jump on the slightest opportunity to become a bigger fish – even when Wilson was on injured reserve four weeks with a shoulder issue. Even then, he learned the value of study.

“I just stayed engaged with everything,” Wilson said, “asking questions about the plays, trying to keep my mental [preparation] up to par instead of just being physical about those situations.

“It’s all about a mental game as well, just continuing to ask questions and trying to stay after meetings and talk to the coaches about plays and what’s my reads on this, like blitz pickups who I need to watch … and everything like that. Really about staying engaged.”

Wilson, who was activated off injured reserve Wednesday, is the latest in a long line of Black college standouts to graduate to the NFL. A starter for all 17 games he played at Fort Valley State (2021-22), he ran for 2,206 yards and 24 touchdowns on 356 carries (6.2 yards per carry) along with 35 receptions for 330 yards and two scores. In 2022, he earned second-team Division II All-America from the American Football Coaches Association after running for 1,371 yards and 17 touchdowns on 209 carries for an average of 6.6 yards per attempt.

Despite those numbers, Wilson was bypassed in the NFL draft, but he didn’t give up. His persistence was rewarded by Green Bay, which picked him up in May after Denver cut him.

“If you put up the numbers, they’ll come find you,” he said, “and just continue to grind.”

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