Dec 27, 2017; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Arizona Wildcats running back Nick Wilson (28) runs with the football against Purdue Boilermakers linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley (4) and linebacker Markus Bailey (21) during the first half in the 2017 Foster Farms Bowl at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

28 Days Till Arizona Football: Look Back at Former RB

Originally posted on Arizona Wildcats on SI
By Ari Koslow | Last updated Aug 2, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The countdown continues as we are now officially 28 days away from the season opener for Arizona against Hawaii. Over the next month, we will be taking a look back at some of the top players in Arizona football history by jersey number as we inch closer towards the start of the season.

We continue with former Arizona RB Nick Wilson who played with the Wildcats from 2014-17.

Nick Wilson exploded as a freshman at Arizona in 2014, rushing for 1,375 yards and 16 touchdowns on 236 carries. He added 12 receptions for 90 yards and another score through the air across 13 games. He averaged 5.8 yards per carry and 105.8 yards per game en route to setting Arizona’s freshman rushing record.

He also ranked fourth in the country among FBS freshmen and No. 1 among league freshmen in total yards from scrimmage. Wilson totaled seven games of 100+ yards across his freshman season.

As a sophomore, Wilson appeared in nine games with four games missed due to injury. He was named to preseason watch lists for the Doak Walker Award and the Maxwell Award Watch. He totaled 729 yards and eight touchdowns on 134 carries. He started the season where he left off as a freshman, running for 97 yards in the season opener before three straight games of 100-plus yards on the ground. He later missed three conference games and the bowl game due to his injury.

Casey Sapio-Imagn Images

Wilson was banged up again the next year as a junior as he was limited to just five games. He ran for 320 yards and three touchdowns on 55 carries. He started the season strong again with back-to-back games exceeding 100 yards on the ground.

As a senior, Wilson ran for 614 yards and six touchdowns on 128 carries across 11 games. He was named an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection, eventually becoming only seventh player in school history to top 3,000 career rushing yards. He totaled two games with 100-plus rushing yards as a starter in 10 of the 1 games he appeared in.

Wilson was not selected in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was invited to the Chicago Bears rookie minicamp on a tryout basis that year in May.

This article first appeared on Arizona Wildcats on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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