UW Assistant Receivers Coach Gets Full-Time Job at Colorado State

Caleb Wilson was the last name called when the NFL needed a draft pick in 2019, earning that infamous distinction as "Mr. Irrelevant" while going to the Arizona Cardinals with the 254th and final selection.

Seven years later, however he was the first name that came up when Colorado State went looking for a receivers coach and Jim Mora hired him on Wednesday to join his staff.

If nothing else, Wilson, who spent the past two years as a University of Washington assistant receivers coach on Jedd Fisch's staff, certainly knows how to network.

In 2017, he played tight end for both Mora and Fisch at UCLA, when Mora got fired late in the season and Fisch went from offensive coordinator to interim head coach.

Mora, of course, is a former UW linebacker and safety who also was the head coach for the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks, and most recently for the Connecticut Huskies.

He replaced Jay Norvell as the Colorado State coach, with Norvell getting let go following a 2-10 season that included losing to the UW -- and Wilson -- in the opener 38-21.

Grateful for the opportunity to be the Wide Receivers Coach at @CSUFootball . Thank you, Coach Mora, for the trust. Also thankful for my time at Washington . Coach Fisch, Coach KC, and our players and staff, who were a blessing to me over the past two seasons. Go Rams🐏. pic.twitter.com/WZzeGoFVaX
— Caleb Wilson (@calebwilson) March 11, 2026

Wilson is the second UW assistant coach in a supporting role to get a promotion to a full-time job, joining Kirkland Parker, who went to North Texas as the safeties coach.

For those who have followed his social-media poastings, Wilson is the coach continually posting sunrise photos of Husky Stadium, not only showing off the view but demonstrating how early he would get to work each day.

It's not surprising that he would become a coach because his father, Chris Wilson, has been a college or NFL defensive coordinator or defensive coach for the past 33 years, with stops at Georgia, Oklahoma, USC, Colorado, the Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles.

A versatile athlete, the younger Wilson originally committed to Old Dominion as a quarterback, but joined USC as a walk-on wide receiver because his father was there. When his dad left the Trojans, Caleb transferred across town to UCLA and became an immediate standout player after making yet another position change to tight end.

In 2017, he caught 15 passes for 203 yards in the Bruins' 45-44 victory over Texas A&M at the Rose Bowl.

The next year, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Wilson hauled in 60 passes for 965 yards and 4 touchdowns, and was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection

He bounced around from the Cardinals to the then-Washington Redskins, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Denver Broncos, appearing in just five games for the Eagles in 2020.

Wilson began coaching in 2023 at UCLA and later moved to Purdue, working on Ryan Walters' staff with the Boilermakers. Walters, of course, is the UW's current defensive coordinator.

Showing how well connected he is to the big scheme of things, Wilson will join a team that is about to move from the Mountain West Conference ... to the Pac-12.