Former Bills safety George Wilson will be the Legend of the Game for Buffalo’s game against the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 3.
“I was excited when the Bills reached out to me,” Wilson said. “It’s Miami week. It’s an archrival of ours so that’s a wonderful matchup. And I know the Bills fans, the Bills Mafia, is going to be in full action on Sunday. You have get up for Miami, so eager to be a part of it.”
Wilson, who has a home in Atlanta, GA and a farm property in Paducah, KY, has not been back to Buffalo since before the epidemic and he is eager about returning to Western New York.
“It’s been a few years, and I’m excited to come back.”
Wilson loves what he sees from the 6-2 Bills at the midway point of the season.
“I think this year, even with all the moving parts… I think the squad has shown some great resilience,” Wilson remarked. “Guys establishing names for themselves, making plays each and every week. Every guy’s performing their job. They’re winning in all three phases.”
The safety originally signed as an undrafted free agent to the Detroit Lions after the 2004 NFL Draft. He signed to the Bills practice squad as a wide receiver. Prior to the 2007 season, he made the shift to strong safety.
“I was a contributor on special teams, so they gave me a chance to really be able to show some value and add some value and being able to make that switch to defense,” Wilson said. “I go into camp just trying to make a play, just trying to show them that I’m learning the position, that I’m making plays that I know where to be to buy more opportunities and more time to be able to show and so ended up making the team as the fifth safety.”
Wilson commended his teammates and coaches with helping him make the move from receiver to safety simple. Wilson played in Buffalo from 2004-2012.
“My position coach, George Catavolos, who stayed with me after practice, to work with me,” Wilson recalled. “Guys like my teammates, Jim Leonard, who played safety with me, helped me with my playbook. Kiwaukee Thomas was our nickel back at the time, he worked with me on my back pedaling technique. And, you know, just being able to just be have a defensive back attitude rather than a wide receiver mentality.”
In 2007, due to injuries to their starting safety, Wilson made his first start against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night football. His first debut was a memorable one, as he intercepted Cowboys QB Tony Romo and returned it for a touchdown.
“That moment, that touchdown showed me that I belonged,” Wilson added. “All that work, all those hours matter, all those all those nights of watching film and learning my playbook and just working out, doing extra, staying after practice, just doing the little things – it paid off.”
Since his retirement, Wilson has worked on growing his farm in Kentucky and created the George Wilson S.A.F.E.T.Y. Foundation. S.A.F.E.T.Y. is an acronym that stands for protecting adolescents from everyday challenges of youth.
He believes that the foundation and his farm property in Kentucky can serve as a resource for students and schools as a campsite development.
“I know what it was like to grow up without a lot of resources… but I also know what it feels like to grow up in a home that’s filled with love and warmth,” Wilson added. “I simply want to be able to be a resource for this generation coming up. To be able to just show kids that their ambitions are feasible and try to equip them with the skills that I feel that made a difference in my life and hoping that it will also help them on their journeys and chasing their dreams and goals and aspirations as well.”
Wilson will join Bills Mafia in rooting on the Bills when they take on the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at 1 p.m.