2021 Penn State Nittany Lions Profile Card: Benjamin Wilson

Penn State’s Ben Wilson has gone form being a multi-sport athlete for a branch campus to a regular on special teams duties.

Name: Benjamin Wilson

Number: 84

Position: Wide receiver

Class: Redshirt senior+ (Using extra year of NCAA eligibility)

Height: 6′-2″

Weight: 210

Hometown: Uniontown, PA

High School: Uniontown

Overview

Penn State wide receiver Ben Wilson has certainly taken a challenging path to being a Penn State football player. Wilson actually started his collegiate athletic career playing basketball and baseball and being a part of the track and field team for Penn State… Fayette. That’s right. This Nittany Lions receiver is a walk-on who has moved his way from a Penn State branch campus to main campus and he’s looking to take full advantage of the opportunity.

Dec 12, 2020; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver Benjamin Wilson (84) carries the Land-Grant trophy into the team tunnel following the completion of the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Michigan State 39-24. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

Wilson was a multi-sport athlete in high school and he continued to do so with Penn State Fayette. In high school, he also played wide receiver and safety for the school’s football team. After transferring to Penn State’s main campus in 2019, Wilson sat out the 2019 season with a redshirt season. However, he played a role in practice by becoming one of Penn State’s top developmental players on offense and special teams.

That hard work paid off in 2020 with Wilson getting a chance to get on the field in seven games, all on special teams duties. He continued to earn praise from the coaching staff as a developmental squad special teams player of the week following the Ohio State game in Week 2 of Penn State’s 2020 schedule.

Penn State wide receiver Benjamin Wilson (84) during their NCAA football practice, Saturday, April 17, 2021, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Wilson is expected to continue playing a role on special teams but he could still be a deep reserve on offense at the receiver position. Regardless, this has been quite a journey for Wilson, who is taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted to all student-athletes in 2020.

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