Terry Wilson (American football)

A four-star recruit, Wilson initially committed to Nebraska, but then changed his mind and instead signed with Oregon.[2] After redshirting his first year, 2016,[3] he decided to transfer to Garden City Community College,[4] partially because of the departure of coach Scott Frost and because he "sensed the fit wasn't right" with Oregon.[5]

Wilson played one season, 2017, at Garden City, and threw for 2,133 yards and 26 touchdowns while completing 57.6% of his pass attempts. Additionally, he ran for 518 yards and scored five touchdowns, on his way to being named Jayhawk Conference Offense Player of the Year. He placed sixth nationally for junior colleges in passing touchdowns and was first in the conference in efficiency.[1]

Wilson transferred to Kentucky for his sophomore season, 2018, and became their starting quarterback in his first year with the team. He ended up starting all 13 games, and led them to their first ten-win season since 1977. He threw 11 touchdowns and completed 180 out of 268 pass attempts, with a 67.2 completion rate. He also placed second on the roster in rushing yards with 547, and became the first Kentucky player in history to have over 1,500 passing yards and over 500 rushing yards in the same year. After the game against Florida, Wilson was named the Manning Player of the Week. He also earned the Howard Schnellenberger Award for being most valuable player of the Governor's Cup.[1]

In the second game 2019, Wilson suffered a season-ending torn patellar tendon against Eastern Michigan.[6] Before the injury, he had thrown for 360 yards and two touchdowns on 33 completions.[7] He recovered in time for the 2020 season and started all but one game,[8] passing for 1,187 yards and seven touchdowns with four interceptions.[7] He helped them compile a 5–6 record in a season shortened by COVID-19,[8] and also ran for 424 yards and scored five touchdowns.[7]

After being given an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wilson decided to transfer to New Mexico for his final season.[8] He ended his time with Kentucky as the only player in team history with over 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards.[9] In August 2021, Wilson was named New Mexico's starting quarterback, having won the training camp position battle.[10] He appeared in seven games, six as a starter,[7] before suffering a season-ending elbow injury midway through the year.[11] He had completed 101 passes for 1,058 yards and seven touchdowns before getting injured.[7] Wilson finished his NCAA career with 4,494 passing yards and 27 touchdowns, along with 1,047 rushing yards and 11 scores.[7]