[1] After graduating from the State Normal school, Wilson enrolled at the University of Michigan as a law student.

He was the starting right guard on the 1901 Michigan Wolverines football team that won the national championship and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 550 to 0.

After the 1901 season, the Michigan Daily-News wrote of Wilson: "He has a great many qualities which combine to make a good guard, but there is one that stands out above all the rest and that is -- strength.

[1] After playing in the 1902 Rose Bowl and graduating from Michigan, Wilson became the 15th head football coach at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

He states that in drilling the team he expects to follow closely the tactics which he learned in Michigan under Coach Fielding H. Yost, and, in addition, to teach some new plays of his own invention which he is sure are winners.

In 1903, Wilson led the team to a record of 9–3, including shutout victories over Indiana (5–0), Butler (46–0), Hanover (51–0), and DePauw (10–0), and an 87–5 win over Franklin.

At the time of the 1900 United States census, Wilson and his wife lived in Columbia Township in The Thumb region of Michigan.