He attended university and played college football at Georgia Tech, graduating with a Bachelor of Science.

Wilkes was all-state at Southwest Atlanta High School and won the 1973 Georgia AA State Championship, heading a defense that allowed 126 yards rushing for the whole season.

[1] In his rookie NFL year with the Eagles, Wilkes recorded 88 tackles, and along with Pro Bowler Bill Bergey, co-led the team with five fumble recoveries.

[6] They later sold that business to Mercantile Trust Bank, based in Baltimore, and Wilkes maintained his position as senior vice president, heading up its sports and entertainment division.

[7] Wilkes, and his group, has been featured by numerous news and media outlets, including The New York Times, [8] The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report,[9] CNBC, Reuters, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,[10] and the documentary film Broke, which premiered at the 2012 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.