Cullen Gillaspia (born May 12, 1995) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. 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 ...

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

Early life

Gillaspia attended and played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at James E. Taylor High School.

College career

Gillaspia walked on to the

team as a

. He tied Texas A&M's record for most games played as the 12th man. Coming into his senior season, Gillaspia moved from linebacker to fullback as

Jimbo Fisher John James "Jimbo" Fisher Jr. (born October 9, 1965) is an American college football coach. He most recently served as the head football coach at Texas A&M Aggies, Texas A&M from 2018 until 2023. Prior to that, he led Florida State Seminoles, Fl ...

shifted to a pro-style offense. He started at fullback in every game and rushed for 33 yards on five carries and caught five passes for 52 yards. Gillaspia recorded six

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

in 2018. In his final play, Gillaspia scored a 13-yard rushing

touchdown 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 ...

in A&M's 52–13 win over NC State in the

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, usually contested on or around New Year's Day. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first televise ...

, the first touchdown by a 12th man in program history

Professional career

Houston Texans

Gillaspia was drafted 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 seventh round, 220th overall, of the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

. He played 12 snaps on offense during the regular season. In the

American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...

wild card game, Gillaspia made a crucial block on two Bills defenders to set up

Deshaun Watson Derrick Deshaun Watson (born September 14, 1995) is an American professional football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, leading the team to a national ...

for a touchdown run in a 22–19 overtime victory. In Week 3 of the 2020 regular season, Cullen Gillaspia caught his first career

reception Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to: Astrology * Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another p ...

, against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. It went for 6 yards. On December 5, 2020, Gillaspia was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

. He was waived with a "failed physical" designation on March 9, 2021.

New York Giants

Gillaspia signed with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

on March 16, 2021. He played in 15 of the 17 games, recording four tackles (two solo).

Seattle Seahawks

On September 28, 2022, Gillaspia was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on October 12. He was placed on injured reserve on November 12 after suffering a knee injury that would require surgery.

References

External links

Texas A&M Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillaspia, Cullen 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Katy, Texas American football fullbacks Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Texas A&M Aggies football players New York Giants players Seattle Seahawks players