Delbert Ray Cowsette (born September 3, 1977) is an American former 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 ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

who played in 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) and

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). He is currently the defensive line coach for the

Howard Bison The Howard Bison and Lady Bison are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Howard University, located in Washington, D.C. The Bison compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s and Division I Footba ...

. Cowsette was selected by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

in the seventh round of the

2000 NFL draft The 2000 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Theat ...

after playing

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

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

. He played 32 games for the Redskins from 2001 to 2002. Cowsette was also a member of the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

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 ...

, and

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

of the NFL but did not appear in any games for any of those teams. He played for the Cologne Centurions of

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

in 2005, and the

New York Dragons The New York Dragons were a professional arena football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Dragons participated in the Arena Football League's (AFL) National Conference as a member of the Eastern Division (AFL), Eastern Division. ...

and

Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP), is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush string and horn arrangements. The ...

of the AFL from 2006 to 2007. He has served over 15 years as a college and professional defensive line coach.

Early life

Delbert Ray Cowsette was born on September 3, 1977, in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. He attended

Cleveland Central Catholic High School Cleveland Central Catholic High School is a private co-educational high school located in Cleveland, Ohio. It is run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. It is a member of the North Central Association, the Notre Dame Education Associa ...

in Cleveland. He recorded 52

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 ...

, eight sacks and five forced

fumbles A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

his senior year, earning all-state and All-Midwest honors. Cowsette also participated in wrestling in high school and was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

. He won the heavyweight state title in wrestling. He graduated from Central Catholic in 1995.

College career

Cowsette played

for the

of the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

from 1996 to 1999 and was a four-year letterman. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 1995. He played in all 11 games, starting three, his freshman year in 1996, accumulating 40 tackles, two sacks, and one fumble recovery that he returned 54 yards for a

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 ...

. Cowsette started all 11 games at

during the 1997 season, totaling 63 tackles and two sacks. He started all 11 games for the second consecutive season in 1998 and made 96 tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble and one

pass breakup In American football, a pass deflected, also known as a pass deflection, a pass defended, a pass , a pass knockdown, or a pass breakup, is an incomplete pass that is caused by a defensive player. This is done by slapping or blocking the ball with ...

, earning honorable mention All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) honors. He was a

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

his senior year in 1999 as he started 11 games for the third straight year while recording 81 tackles and six sacks, garnering first-team All-ACC recognition. Cowsette played in all 44 games, starting 36, for the Terrapins during his college career and made 280 tackles. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in geography.

Professional career

Cowsette was selected by the

in the seventh round, with the 216th overall pick, of the

. He officially signed with the team on May 18. He was

waived A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. A waiver is often written, such as a disclaimer that has been accepted, but it may also be spoken between two or more parties. When the right to hold a p ...

on August 27 and signed to the team's

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 ...

the next day. Cowsette was waived by the Redskins on November 13, 2000. He was signed to the practice squad of the

on December 7, 2000. On December 19, 2000, he was signed by the Redskins off of the Colts' practice squad. Cowsette played in all 16 games for the Redskins in 2001, recording eight solo tackles, and two assisted tackles. During the 2002 preseason, Cowsette was fined $10,000 for a hit on

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 ...

quarterback

Charlie Batch Charles D'Donte Batch (born December 5, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Eastern Michigan Eagles. He was selected by the D ...

that caused a chin laceration. Cowsette appeared in all 16 games for the second straight season in 2002, totaling 11 solo tackles, four assisted tackles, and two sacks. He was waived by the Redskins on August 31, 2003. Cowsette signed a reserve/future contract with the

on January 5, 2004. He was waived on May 13, 2004. He was signed by the

on July 30, 2004. He was waived by the Giants on August 31, 2004. Cowsette signed another reserve/future contract with the Buccaneers on January 19, 2005. He was allocated to

to play for the Cologne Centurions. He played in all 10 games, starting nine, for the Centurions during the

2005 NFL Europe season The 2005 NFL Europe season was the 13th season in 15 years of the American Football league that started out as the World League of American Football. The Hamburg Sea Devils replaced the Scottish Claymores for the 2005 season. World Bowl XIII ...

, posting 18 tackles, three sacks, and one pass breakup. Cowsette was waived by the Buccaneers on September 3, 2005. In late September 2005, he was selected by the

Utah Blaze The Utah Blaze was a professional arena football team based in Salt Lake City, Utah and competed in the West Division of the Arena Football League. Home games were played at the EnergySolutions Arena. In 2013, the team did not submit proper ...

of the

(AFL) in the expansion draft. On October 5, 2005, he was traded to the

Austin Wranglers The Austin Wranglers were an arena football team based in Austin, Texas. They played four seasons in the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2007 and spent one season in af2, the AFL's developmental league, in 2008. They made playoff appearances ...

for

Bryan Henderson Bryan Henderson (born April 11, 1978) is a former American football defensive lineman who played six seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) with the Arizona Rattlers, Austin Wranglers, Utah Blaze, Kansas City Brigade, Grand Rapids Rampage a ...

. On November 1, 2005, Cowsette and Richard McCleskey were traded to the

for

Josh White Joshua Daniel White (February 11, 1914 – September 5, 1969) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names Pinewood Tom and Tippy Barton in the 1930s. White grew up in the Sou ...

. Cowsette played in all 16 games for the Dragons in 2006, accumulating nine solo tackles, 13 assisted tackles, five sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and two pass breakups while also catching two passes for seven yards. He was named to the AFL All-Rookie team as an offensive/defensive lineman. He was signed by the

on August 10, 2006. He was waived on September 1, but later re-signed on December 20 before being waived again on December 25, 2006. Cowsette re-signed with the Dragons on October 11, 2006. He was placed on refused to report on February 10, 2007, but was activated the next day. He appeared in six games during the 2007 season, recording three solo tackles, nine assisted tackles, and one sack. Cowsette was waived on April 27, 2007. He was claimed off waivers by the

on May 1, 2007. He played in five games for the Soul in 2007, accumulating one solo tackle and five assisted tackles. Cowsette 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 ...

on June 19, 2007. He was waived on February 22, 2008. Cowsette signed with the

New Orleans VooDoo The New Orleans VooDoo were a professional arena football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They were members of the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2015. The VooDoo were the second team to play in the Arena Football League and play in ...

of the AFL on March 10, 2008. He was waived on March 13, 2008.

Coaching career

Cowsette began his coaching career as the assistant

strength and conditioning coach A strength and conditioning coach (also known as an S&C coach) is a physical performance professional who uses exercise prescription to improve the performance of competitive Athlete, athletes or Sports club, athletic teams. This is achieved throug ...

for the Maryland Terrapins in 2007. He then served as the team's assistant defensive line coach from 2008 to 2009. He was the defensive line coach for the

Hampton Pirates The Hampton Pirates and Lady Pirates refer to the sports teams representing Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia in intercollegiate athletics. The Pirates and Lady Pirates compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS ...

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missiona ...

in 2010, and the assistant defensive line coach of the

Virginia Destroyers The Virginia Destroyers were a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They began play in the United Football League (UFL) in the 2011 season. They played their home games at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The t ...

of the United Football League (UFL) in 2011. The Destroyers won the UFL championship that season. He returned as defensive line coach at Hampton from 2012 to 2013. Cowsette then served as the defensive line coach for the

Albany Great Danes The Albany Great Danes are the NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic programs of the University at Albany, SUNY, located in Albany, New York, United States. A member of the America East Conference, the University at Albany, SUNY sponsors tea ...

University at Albany, SUNY The State University of New York at Albany (University at Albany, UAlbany, or SUNY Albany) is a Public university, public research university in Albany, New York, United States. Founded in 1844, it is one of four "university centers" of the St ...

from 2014 to 2018, the defensive line coach at Maryland in 2019, and the assistant defensive line coach of the

Air Force Falcons The Air Force Falcons are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the United States Air Force Academy, located in El Paso County, Colorado north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. Th ...

of the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

from 2020 to 2021. He rejoined the professional ranks in 2023 as the defensive line coach for the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. He then became the defensive line coach for the

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

in 2024.

Personal life

While at Maryland, Cowsette was a scholar-athlete in spring 1998 and was also a member of the school's student-athlete advisory council. He is a co-founder of the Premiere Intermediate Football League, a youth football league. He is also the owner of In Between the Lines, a non-profit youth organization. Cowsette married Alena Cowsette and they had three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowsette, Delbert 1977 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen American football defensive linemen American football offensive linemen Maryland Terrapins football players Washington Redskins players Indianapolis Colts players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players New York Giants players Cologne Centurions (NFL Europe) players Utah Blaze players Austin Wranglers players New York Dragons players Chicago Bears players Philadelphia Soul players New Orleans VooDoo players Players of American football from Cleveland Maryland Terrapins football coaches Hampton Pirates football coaches Virginia Destroyers coaches Albany Great Danes football coaches Air Force Falcons football coaches Saskatchewan Roughriders coaches Howard Bison football coaches Coaches of American football from Ohio African-American coaches of American football African-American coaches of Canadian football American strength and conditioning coaches