Russell Wilson is better known today as Ciara's husband, a Pro Bowl quarterback, and Super Bowl winner. He is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL after taking the job from Matt Flynn when he arrived in Seattle. He has revitalized the Seahawks with help from Pete Carroll, and they are a duo of brilliance that works on the order of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. He changed how people transfer from one college to another, and he found the loophole that was needed to help students play just after switching schools.
His journey is interesting
He was not succeeding in the Rockies farm system, and he went to Nc State to play quarterback.
Wilson was a star over three years with the Wolfpack, and he pulled up stakes for Wisconsin after the third year. This typically results in the player sitting out a season because they are not allowed to transfer in Division I to play the next season. At the time, Wilson earned his undergraduate degree, and he would be enrolling at Wisconsin as a graduate student. The Rule Book was cracked open, and he left.
He was a star at Wisconsin
Wilson landed at Wisconsin at the right time. He set an NCAA record for passer efficiency, and he led the Badgers to the Rose Bowl. He was the darling of college football. He was that scrappy kid we did not recognize from NC State who popped up at Wisconsin. Everyone pulled for him, and he was a hot commodity going into the NFL Draft.
His spectacular season caused the Seahawks to take a run at him in the third round of the draft, and he became their starter not long after.
The rule will stay
The NCAA has very little to hang its hat on, and the governing body for college sports cannot take away this loophole without everyone noticing. Russell Wilson is far too relevant, and articles such as this one would be pulled up to note that the NCAA allowed this to go on long after he had won a Super Bowl.
The rule is not known as the "Russell Wilson rule," but it should be. He has helped many kids go to the schools they need, and he has prevented many students from sitting out a year of their lives because of arcane rules used by the NCAA. He is as culturally relevant today because he is successful and married to Ciara, but his most important move was going to Wisconsin, showing us the gap in the rules, and succeeding after he did it. He created an environment that allowed student athletes to realize that they had more choices as they planned for their future in football and beyond.
