User:AlexMcComb/sandbox

= Mack Wilson =

Lyndell Mack Wilson (born February 14, 1997) is an American football linebacker for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). After attending Carver High School in Montgomery, Alabama, Wilson earned an athletic scholarship to play football at the University of Alabama under head coach Nick Saban. At Alabama, Wilson has been widely recognized as one of the top players in the NCAA as the linebacker earned a semi-finalist nomination for the Butkus Award, given annually to the nation's top college linebacker. During his college career, he has been a part of one National Championship team (2017-18). Wilson is currently considered a top prospect for the upcoming 2019 NFL Draft.

Early years
Wilson attended Carver High School in Montgomery, Alabama, where he was ranked among the top 30 players in the country. He played all four years under head coach Billy Gresham.

As a junior, he tallied 86 tackles, nine sacks, five forced fumbles and two interceptions, earning himself a 2014 first team Junior All-American selection by MaxPreps.com. As a senior in 2015, Wilson recorded 115 tackles, five sacks, four forced fumbles and an interception. His senior season performance earned himself accolades such as:


 * Selections :
 * 2016 Under Armour All-America Game selection
 * Nike's 2015 "The Opening" selection
 * Five-star prospect selection by 247Sports and Rivals.com
 * All-USA selection by USA Today
 * Scout.com All-American selection
 * First team MaxPreps.com All-American selection
 * AL.com Super All-State selection
 * First team 6A All-State selection by the Alabama Sports Writers Association
 * ASWA Super 12 selection
 * Rankings :
 * No. 10 on Prepstar Top 150 Dream Team
 * No. 2 outside linebacker by 247Sports
 * No. 19 in the Top247
 * No. 26 in the Rivals100
 * No. 34 in the ESPN300
 * No. 3 player in Alabama
 * No. 21 in the Southeast region

After his senior season, Wilson committed and signed his letter of intent to play football for the University of Alabama, turning down other top offers from schools such as Ole Miss, Auburn, Georgia and Florida.

Freshman (2016)
As a freshman in 2016, Wilson played in all 15 regular season games for the Crimson Tide. He was a starter on special teams, totaling six tackles on kickoff teams while playing limited snaps as a backup inside linebacker on defense. Wilson was also utilized as a receiver out of the offensive backfield while also blocking in certain personnel packages on offense. After a game against the Texas A&M Aggies, he was named one of Alabama's coaching staffs' "special teams players of the week" due to his strong performance as a freshman.

Sophomore (2017)
After spending one year as a backup linebacker and a starting special teamer, Wilson developed into one of Alabama's starting linebackers during his sophomore year in 2017. In a game against LSU, he suffered an injury in his foot, ultimately ruling him out for two weeks during the 2017 season. Despite missing time due to injury, Wilson managed to lead Alabama in interceptions with four, with one being returned for a touchdown. He earned a fifth place finish in the SEC for total interceptions. Wilson finished his sophomore campaign with 40 total tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. His performances against both Fresno State as well as Ole MIss earned Wilson two additional "special teams players of the week" awards from the Alabama coaching staff.

Junior (2018 - Present)
As Wilson's junior year continues through to the 2019 playoffs, his current stats include 43 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, two interceptions and 1 sack while also creating five quarterback pressures and four pass breakups. Wilson was recently nominated as a semifinalist for the Butkus Award (awarded to NCAA's top linebacker) as well as earning other accolades such as a preseason first team All-America selection by Athlon and a selection to the Bednarik award watch list. Wilson was also selected by his coaches at Alabama as a "defensive player of the week" after a game versus Missouri.