By Eric Stann
May 12, 2025
Contact: Eric Stann, StannE@missouri.edu
Photos courtesy Milli Wilson
By the time Amelia “Milli” Wilson was 3, she wasn’t just watching football — she was falling in love with it, snap by snap, game by game. Curled up on her father's lap, she saw the game through his eyes — a man who once chased his own NFL dream with the New Orleans Saints.
Wilson, who will graduate this weekend from the University of Missouri with a degree in parks, recreation, sport and tourism from the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, also had a sport-related dream. But life threw her a curveball.
A knee injury in high school cut her promising basketball career short. She cried for two days — but on the third day, she found clarity.
“Guys, I know what I’m going to do,” she told her parents. “I’m going to coach football — in the NFL.”
Her mom shot back, half-joking: “And I want to win the lottery.”
Wilson took that challenge to heart. Her parents had always taught her she could do anything — she’d just have to work to get it. And that’s exactly what she did.
While still in high school, Wilson’s physical education teacher, Jimmy Brown, connected her with one of his former students — Bush Hamdan, then on Mizzou Football’s coaching staff. After a few conversations, Hamdan passed along an offer from Mizzou Football Head Coach Eliah Drinkwitz for Wilson to join the team as a student assistant when she arrived on campus.
That one connection turned into the opportunity of a lifetime and jumpstarted her dream.
One year after joining Mizzou Football, Wilson earned a coveted invite to the NFL Women’s Forum, a program created to identify women working in football and connect them with NFL executives and coaches. This led to a Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship with the Buffalo Bills — and eventually a full-time spot on their coaching staff.
Now, Wilson is in her second season with the Buffalo Bills. As an offensive assistant/offensive fellowship coach, she creates weekly game plans and analyzes game film for the offensive line. And for the past 12 months, she’s balanced these job duties all while finishing her degree through Mizzou online.
Along the way, she’s fully embraced the Buffalo Bills playoff caliber standard.
Here’s a look inside Wilson’s playbook for graduation — her real-life Xs and Os for making the dream work.
Play 1: No-look pass
Taking the leap before seeing the full field
Most students tour campus before choosing a college. But Wilson didn’t even look at Mizzou on Google Maps.
“When I got the call from Coach Hamdan that I had an opportunity to join Mizzou Football’s coaching staff, I just said, ‘Alright, cool. I’m going.’ The first time I ever saw Mizzou’s campus was when my parents dropped me off for my first day as a freshman.”
Lesson learned: Sometimes, you have to bet on yourself — even if you can’t see the whole path.
Play 2: Corner route
Find your person, run your route and trust the timing
Before coming to Mizzou, Wilson met with her academic advisor from the School of Natural Resources, Jenna Fusinatto, over Zoom. From that call on, Fusinatto wasn’t just an advisor — she was Wilson’s anchor.
“When I told Jenna I was working with the football team and chasing this dream, she didn’t flinch. She helped me build a class schedule around it — fewer credits in fall, heavier in spring. I made it a goal to see Jenna every week while on campus, not to discuss academics, but to talk about life in general. She made it possible for me to succeed.”
Lesson learned: Having someone in your corner who gets it can change your whole game.
Play 3: Two-minute mastery
Survival turns into strategy when you start playing to win
In her first year as a student assistant coach with Mizzou Football, Wilson was learning the ropes. By her sophomore year, things shifted — Hamdan started working as the quarterbacks coach, and Wilson’s responsibilities grew as a result.
She started to really understand the game. And thanks to the time management skills she learned as a student-athlete in high school, Wilson learned to balance her academic schedule with the workload of a rising football coach.
“Sports is the greatest teacher of life. You learn things you just can’t get anywhere else.”
Lesson learned: Real progress happens when you move from just hanging on to taking charge.
Play 4: 4th and faith
When the play clock’s running down, belief keeps you in the game
Looking back on her college experience, what surprised Wilson the most wasn’t coaching football or her classes — it was the relationships.
“The past year has been one of the hardest in my life. I gave up a lot — including my senior year — to start coaching in the NFL. But I wouldn’t have made it without my people, my community, my family and above all, my faith.”
Lesson learned: Success demands sacrifice — but you’re never doing it alone.
