Ben Wilkerson

Ben Wilkerson
New York Jets
Position:	Assistant offensive line coach
Personal information
Born:	November 22, 1982 (age 41); Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	300 lb (136 kg)
Career information
High school:	Hemphill ; (Hemphill, Texas)
College:	LSU (2001–2004)
Undrafted:	2005
Career history
As a player:
	Cincinnati Bengals (2005–2006); Atlanta Falcons (2007–2008); Florida Tuskers (2009);
As a coach:
	LSU (2011) ; Graduate assistant; Grambling State (2012–2013) ; Offensive line coach; Chicago Bears (2015–2017) ; Assistant offensive line coach; New York Giants (2018–2021) ; Assistant offensive line coach; New York Jets (2022–present) ; Assistant offensive line coach;
Career highlights and awards
	As a player BCS national champion (2003); Rimington Trophy (2004); Consensus All-American (2004); Second-team All-American (2003); First-team All-SEC (2004);
Career NFL statistics
Games played:
Games played:	32
	Player stats at PFR

Last updated May 23, 2024

Benjamin Lorenza Wilkerson (born November 22, 1982) is an American football coach and former player who is the assistant offensive line coach for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played as a center in the NFL for four seasons from 2005 to 2008. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, earning consensus All-American honors, and winning the Rimington Trophy.^{[lower-alpha 1]} He signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2005, and also played for the Atlanta Falcons, and the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League (UFL).

Early years

Wilkerson was born in Port Arthur, Texas. He graduated from Hemphill High School in Hemphill, Texas.

College career

He received an athletic scholarship to attend Louisiana State University, where he played for coach Nick Saban's LSU Tigers football team from 2001 to 2004. As a junior in 2003, he was a member of the Tigers' SEC Championship team that defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 21–14 to win the BCS National Championship. Following his senior 2004 season, he was recognized as a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection and a consensus first-team All-American, and was awarded the Rimington Trophy as the best college football center in the country.

Professional career

Wilkerson was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2005 by the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals, and he was a member of the Bengals from 2005 to 2006, but appeared in only three games during the 2006 season. He also played for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons from 2007 to 2008, and appeared in twenty-nine games off the bench for the Falcons.^[1]

He was a member of the United Football League's Florida Tuskers for part of the 2009 season.

Coaching career

LSU

Wilkerson served as a graduate assistant for the LSU Tigers during the 2011 football season under Les Miles.

Grambling State

He served as the offensive line coach at Grambling State University from 2012 to 2013.

North Shore Senior High School

Wilkerson was a PE teacher and assistant football and track coach at North Shore Senior High School in Texas during 2014.^[2]

Chicago Bears

On February 11, 2015, Wilkerson was hired by the Chicago Bears as their assistant offensive line coach.^[2]^[3]

New York Giants

On February 5, 2018, the New York Giants hired Wilkerson to serve as their assistant offensive line coach.^[4]^[5] Even with the coaching change in 2020, head coach Joe Judge decided to keep Wilkerson on the Giants staff in the same position.^[6]^[7] Wilkerson coached the team's offensive line when Dave DeGuglielmo missed their week 17 game against the Dallas Cowboys on January 3, 2021.^[8] He was not retained after the 2021 season.

New York Jets

Wilkerson was hired on March 7, 2022, by the New York Jets to be their assistant offensive line coach.^[9]

Personal life

Wilkerson and his wife, Angi, have four children, Brianna, Isabella, Jordan, and Benjamin ll.

Notes and references

1 2 Co-winner with David Baas

↑ Lester, Ryan. "Offseason Analysis: Atlanta Falcons". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
1 2 Wright, Michael C. (February 11, 2015). "Ben Wilkerson joins Bears' coaching staff". ESPN . Retrieved February 13, 2015.
↑ Wiederer, Dan (February 11, 2015). "Bears name Ben Wilkerson assistant offensive line coach". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
↑ "Report: Giants' Pat Shurmur adds Deshea Townsend, Ben Wilkerson to staff". Giants Wire. February 5, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
↑ "Report: Ben Wilkerson, Deshea Townsend join Giants' staff". profootballtalk. February 5, 2018.
↑ "Report: Giants, Joe Judge will keep Ben Wilkerson on staff". Giants Wire. January 25, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
↑ "The Latest on the Giants Assistant Coaching Staff". Sports Illustrated New York Giants News, Analysis and More. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
↑ Eisen, Michael (January 3, 2021). "OL Coach DeGuglielmo tests positive for COVID-19". Giants.com. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
↑ Thompson, Scott (March 7, 2022). "Jets hire Ben Wilkerson as assistant offensive line coach". Yahoo.com.

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[Rimington-1] 1 2 Co-winner with David Baas

[2] Lester, Ryan. "Offseason Analysis: Atlanta Falcons". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 7, 2020.

[Bears_hiring-3] 1 2 Wright, Michael C. (February 11, 2015). "Ben Wilkerson joins Bears' coaching staff". ESPN . Retrieved February 13, 2015.

[4] Wiederer, Dan (February 11, 2015). "Bears name Ben Wilkerson assistant offensive line coach". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved May 7, 2020.

[5] "Report: Giants' Pat Shurmur adds Deshea Townsend, Ben Wilkerson to staff". Giants Wire. February 5, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2020.

[6] "Report: Ben Wilkerson, Deshea Townsend join Giants' staff". profootballtalk. February 5, 2018.

[7] "Report: Giants, Joe Judge will keep Ben Wilkerson on staff". Giants Wire. January 25, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2020.

[8] "The Latest on the Giants Assistant Coaching Staff". Sports Illustrated New York Giants News, Analysis and More. Retrieved May 7, 2020.

[9] Eisen, Michael (January 3, 2021). "OL Coach DeGuglielmo tests positive for COVID-19". Giants.com. Retrieved March 3, 2021.

[10] Thompson, Scott (March 7, 2022). "Jets hire Ben Wilkerson as assistant offensive line coach". Yahoo.com.

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v t e 2004 College Football All-America Team consensus selections
Offense	QB Matt Leinart RB Adrian Peterson RB J. J. Arrington WR Braylon Edwards WR Taylor Stubblefield TE Heath Miller OL Jammal Brown OL Alex Barron OL David Baas OL Elton Brown OL Michael Muñoz C Ben Wilkerson
Defense	DL David Pollack DL Erasmus James DL Shaun Cody DL Marcus Spears LB Derrick Johnson LB Matt Grootegoed LB A. J. Hawk DB Antrel Rolle DB Marlin Jackson DB Carlos Rogers DB Ernest Shazor DB Thomas Davis Sr.
Special teams	P Brandon Fields PK Mike Nugent KR/AP Reggie Bush