James Byron Casey (born September 22, 1984) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player who is the

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

s coach for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played in the NFL as a

and fullback. He was selected by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

in the fifth round of the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...

and has also played for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

and

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

of the

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Rice Owls The Rice Owls are the sports teams representing Houston's Rice University in college sports. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of the American Athletic Conference, Rice sponsors ...

and played baseball and football at Azle High School.

Early and personal life

Casey lost his mother at the age of 16, when a fire burned their home. He was only left with his backpack and the clothes he was wearing. He received support from citizens of Azle, Texas, who provided clothes, shelter and money to further his studies and his athletic career. He lived in various locations, with his older sister for a while, with his future wife’s family, with the trainer at Azle High School. Casey is married to his high school sweetheart, Kylie, and has two sons with her.

Baseball career

Casey was selected by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

in the seventh round of the 2003 MLB Draft. He played in the White Sox organization for three years before retiring after 2006 to pursue a career in football.

College career

After retiring from baseball Casey chose to play

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

. As a freshman in 2007 Casey started four of 12 games recording 46 receptions for 585 yards and four

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. He also had 144 rushing yards on 45 carries and five touchdowns as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and completed two of seven passes for 32 yards and an

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. He also played seven different positions in a game against

Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

. As a sophomore in 2008 Casey started all 13 games at tight end earning third-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and first-team All-

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

honors. He finished the season setting a single-season school record for receptions with 111 for 1,329 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also added 241 rushing yards on 57 carries and six touchdowns and completed two of five passes for five yards. Casey ended his collegiate career with NCAA tight end records for most passes caught in a season, most passes caught per game in a season, most yards gained in a season, and most yards per game in a season. After his sophomore year Casey announced that he would enter the

. Casey graduated from Rice with a triple major in Economics, Sports Management, and Managerial Studies and a 3.84 GPA.

Professional career

Houston Texans

Casey was drafted by the

in the fifth round of the

. In his first game as starter, Casey caught three passes for 29 yards, but did not record a carry. In 2011, Casey was named the Texans starting fullback.

Philadelphia Eagles

Casey signed a three-year, $14.6 million contract with the

on March 12, 2013. Casey was released by the Eagles on February 19, 2015.

Denver Broncos

Casey signed a one-year deal with the Broncos on April 11, 2015. He was reunited with his former Texans head coach, Gary Kubiak. On October 9, 2015, Casey was released from the Broncos to make room for Derek Wolfe, who came off a four-game suspension.

Coaching career

University of Houston

On January 13, 2016, it was announced that Casey had joined the coaching staff of the

Houston Cougars football The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH." The UH football program is a member of the Big 12 Conference. Since th ...

team as an offensive analyst. On December 22, 2016, was promoted to tight ends coach under new

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

head coach, Major Applewhite.

Cincinnati Bengals

On February 7, 2019 Casey was hired by the Bengals to be their tight ends coach.

References

External links

*
Rice Owls bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Casey, James 1984 births Living people American football fullbacks American football tight ends Rice Owls football players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Philadelphia Eagles players Denver Broncos players Bristol White Sox players Great Falls White Sox players Laredo Broncos players Fort Worth Cats players All-American college football players Players of American football from Fort Worth, Texas Houston Cougars football coaches People from Azle, Texas Cincinnati Bengals coaches Coaches of American football from Texas Baseball players from Texas Baseball pitchers