National Football Foundation

Christian Wilkins personifies the scholar-athlete ideal, having already earned his degree while claiming First Team All-America honors in three seasons and guiding Clemson to two national championships.
 
After graduating in December 2017 with a 3.33 GPA in communication studies, Wilkins became the first scholarship player in Clemson football history to finish school in two and a half years. The Springfield, Massachusetts, native then earned a master’s in athletic leadership a year later. He was a four-time All-ACC Academic Team member and received the ACC’s 2018 Jim Tatum Award as the conference’s top senior football student-athlete.
 
A two-year team captain, Wilkins guided Clemson to a perfect 15-0 record and the national title in 2018. In four seasons, he guided the Tigers to the 2018 and 2016 national titles, three championship game appearances and four consecutive trips to the College Football Playoff
semifinals. Clemson finished ranked no lower than No. 4 in each of his four seasons.

Wilkins claimed First Team All-America honors for the third consecutive season in 2018, becoming the fifth unanimous First Team All-American in Clemson history. He previously earned First Team All-America honors in 2017 and 2016.

A finalist for the 2018 Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Outland Trophy, he led the Tigers to their fourth-consecutive ACC title while guiding a unit that finished atop the nation in scoring defense. A three-time All-ACC selection, he earned first team honors in 2018 and 2017 while claiming second team laurels in 2016.

Wilkins made an immediate impact at Clemson, earning 2015 First Team Freshman All-America honors, and he was a finalist for the Nagurski Trophy in 2016.

Making a difference off the field, Wilkins became a certified substitute teacher during the 2018 offseason, indicating that he wanted to provide inspiration and guidance to K-12 students. An avid volunteer, Wilkins worked with Habitat for Humanity in college, and he returned to Springfield, Massachusetts, in the summer of 2021 to host a youth football clinic.

He has been immortalized at Clemson as part of a new statue outside the football complex emphasizing a “Culture of Care.”

In 2021, Wilkins completed his third season as a starter for the Miami Dolphins after being selected with the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. His 82 tackles in 2021 are a NFL single-season record for a defensive tackle.