Zach Wilson

Early life

Wilson was born in Draper, Utah, on August 3, 1999. He attended Corner Canyon High School, where he played high school football. He passed for 2,986 yards and 24 touchdowns while also rushing for 752 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior. Wilson originally committed to play quarterback at Boise State University before later decommitting and choosing to attend Brigham Young University (BYU).

College career

As a true freshman at BYU in 2018, Wilson played in nine games and made seven starts. He started his first career game against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, becoming the youngest quarterback to start a game for BYU. He finished the season having completed 120 of 182 passes for 1,578 yards with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. He was named the MVP of the 2018 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl after completing all 18 of his passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns in the 49–18 victory over the Western Michigan Broncos.

As a sophomore in 2019, Wilson started nine games, completing 199 of 319 passes for 2,382 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. That season, the Cougars were invited to the 2019 Hawaii Bowl, where Wilson was named BYU's MVP in the Cougars' 38–34 loss to the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

As a junior in 2020, Wilson started 12 games and completed 247 of 336 passes for 3,692 yards, 33 touchdowns and three interceptions while rushing for 255 yards and 10 touchdowns, breaking Steve Young's school completion percentage in a season at 73.5 percent. He helped lead BYU to a 10–1 regular season mark. He was named the offensive MVP of the 2020 Boca Raton Bowl after completing 26 of 34 passes for 425 yards and three touchdowns in the 49–23 victory over the UCF Knights. He and USC safety Talanoa Hufanga were selected as recipients of the 2020 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award.

Personal life

Wilson was born to Michael and Lisa Wilson (née Neeleman) and has three brothers, one of whom is college quarterback Isaac Wilson, and two sisters. He is part Hawaiian on his father's side, with his middle name Kapono meaning "righteous" in the Hawaiian language. Some other members of his family include airline entrepreneur David Neeleman and HealthEquity co-founder Stephen Neeleman.

Wilson was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a child, a trait that runs in his family. Wilson was baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has said that he "didn't grow up active in the church [and] was never really a churchgoer..." He considers himself a spiritual person, telling Deseret News "I have always had a good relationship with God in my life."

Wilson has been friends with former BYU Cougars teammate Dax Milne since childhood.

In June 2024, Wilson announced his engagement to girlfriend Nicolette Dellanno. On June 28, 2025, Wilson and Dellanno were married in New York City.