Former Paul Pewitt standout Jimmy Wilkerson dies at 43

Published 12:53 pm Monday, December 16, 2024

Jimmy Wilkerson, who helped lead Paul Pewitt to a state football championship in 1998 and had a long career in the National Football League, died at his home in Midwest City, Oklahoma on Friday.

He was 43.

Wilkerson was an assistant coach at Carl Albert High School, which won a third straight Class 5A championship – and the school’s 19th overall – the next day. His son was a member of the team.

At Paul Pewitt, Wilkerson was a standout linebacker and quarterback for the Brahmas. He rushed for 2,055 yards and passed for 1,829 yards during his high school career.

As a junior, Wilkerson rushed for 940 yards and 18 touchdowns, passed for 630 yards and seven scores and recorded 142 tackles, seven forced fumbles and two interceptions for a team that defeated Brookshire-Royal 28-26 in the Class 2A Division I championship game in 1998 in Bedford.

In his final two high school seasons, he rushed for 1,555 yards and 32 touchdowns, passed for 1,250 yards and 14 scores and recorded 253 tackles.

Wilkerson signed with the University of Oklahoma, and played in 38 games with Sooners – starting 24. He finished his college career with 130 tackles, 35 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, 28 quarterback pressures, 13 pass breakups and for forced fumbles.

Selected in the sixth round of the NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2003, Wilkerson played with the Chiefs from 2003-2007, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2008-2009 and spent one season apiece with the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks.

He finished his professional career with 179 tackles, 14 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and nine pass breakups.

Wilkerson coached at Texas A&M-Commerce (now East Texas A&M) and was currently the defensive line coach at Carl Albert High School.