Gerris Vernard Bowers Wilkinson (born April 5, 1983) is a former American football linebacker. 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 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