Cory Nicholas Harkey (born June 17, 1990) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense (sports), offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide ...

and coach who is the assistant special teams coach for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He was signed by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2012 and played college football at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

. He is currently an assistant coach for the

College career

After attending

Chino Hills High School Chino Hills High School, abbreviated CHHS, is located in Chino Hills, California, United States and is a public comprehensive high school serving a student body from three cities in the Chino Valley Unified School District. The school was establ ...

, he played college football at UCLA, and played in every game of his college career. He started seven games during his freshman season and was used primarily as a blocker, although he did have five catches for 40 yards and a touchdown. He once again was used almost exclusively as a blocker during his sophomore year, starting four games out of double tight-end formations, totaling eight receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown. During Harkey's junior year, he started every game for the Bruins, having his most productive year as a receiver. He finished fifth on the team in receptions, having 14 catches for 140 yards. Harkey once again started every game for the team during his senior year; however, he had only one reception for 10 yards. Following the season, the Bruins coaching staff awarded Harkey the Jerry Long "Heart" Award and Kenneth S. Washington Award for Outstanding Senior of the Year.

Professional career

Harkey was invited to the 2012

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

. On May 8, 2012, he was signed by the

as an

. At the conclusion of 2012 training camp, Harkey was released and placed on the Rams practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on November 17, 2012, taking the roster place of

Kellen Heard Kellen Heard (born October 17, 1985) is a former American football nose tackle. He played college football at Texas A&M, then transferred to the University of Memphis with his last year of eligibility. Professional career Oakland Raiders ...

, who had been released the previous week. Harkey dressed in his first game on the roster and was targeted once. He scored his first touchdown against the Houston Texans on October 13, 2013. Harkey has been frequently utilized as a fullback with the

Rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

player

Mike Harkey Michael Anthony Harkey (born October 25, 1966) is an American former professional baseball player and current coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1988 to 1997 for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Oakland At ...

, who is currently the bullpen coach for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

. He says that former

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

and Atlanta Falcons tight end

Tony Gonzalez Anthony David Gonzalez (born February 27, 1976) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, he is the NFL's all-time leader ...

is his biggest inspiration as a player.

References

External links

Tennessee State profile

Azusa Pacific profile

UCLA profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harkey, Cory 1990 births Living people American football tight ends Azusa Pacific Cougars football coaches Los Angeles Rams players St. Louis Rams players Tennessee State Tigers football coaches UCLA Bruins football players Chino Hills High School alumni People from Chino Hills, California Coaches of American football from California Players of American football from San Bernardino County, California Players of American football from Chicago African-American coaches of American football 21st-century African-American sportspeople Buffalo Bills coaches