Dennis Houston (born April 24, 1999) 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 ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

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 ...

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

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for the

Houston Baptist Huskies The Houston Christian Huskies, HCU or Huskies (formerly known as Houston Baptist, HBU) are the athletic teams that represent Houston Christian University, located in Houston, Texas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division I level ...

, Fullerton Hornets and

Western Illinois Leathernecks The Western Illinois Leathernecks are the teams and athletes that represent Western Illinois University, located in Macomb, Illinois, in NCAA Division I sports. The school is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. Its football team is a member ...

Early life

Houston grew up in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

and attended

Earl Warren High School Earl Warren High School is a public school located in San Antonio, Texas, United States. It is a part of the Northside Independent School District. As with all Northside ISD high schools, it is named for a former United States Supreme Court just ...

College career

Houston began his college football career at Houston Baptist. He caught 33 passes for 362 yards as a freshman. After the season, Houston transferred to

Fullerton College Fullerton College (FC) is a public community college in Fullerton, California. The college is part of the California Community Colleges System and the North Orange County Community College District. Established in 1913, it is the oldest communi ...

and had 360 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He then transferred to

Western Illinois Forgottonia (), also spelled Forgotonia, is the name given to a 16-county region in Western Illinois in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This geographic region forms the distinctive western bulge of Illinois (area west of 90° Longitude West) t ...

for his remaining collegiate eligibility. As a junior, he led the team with 539 receiving yards on 36 catches and scored three touchdowns. As a senior, he was named first-team All-

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the National Collegiate A ...

(MVFC) after leading the team with 43 receptions and 477 receiving yards with two touchdowns during the spring 2021 season, which was delayed from the fall due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. As a fifth-year senior, Houston caught 90 passes for 1,015 yards and six touchdowns and was again named first-team All-MVFC.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Houston was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

after the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual NFL draft, draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise next to Las Vegas. The first round ...

on May 3. During

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

, he took advantage of injuries to wide receivers

Michael Gallup Michael Gallup (born March 4, 1996) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Butler Grizzlies and Colorado Stat ...

and James Washington to pass third-round draft choice Jalen Tolbert on the depth chart. The Cowboys gave him a chance to grow his role on the team during the first two games of the season. He recorded two receptions for 16 yards. He was waived on September 20 and re-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 ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 25, 2023. He was waived on August 29, 2023.

New York Giants

On August 31, 2023, Houston was signed to 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 ...

practice squad. Following the end of the 2023 regular season, the Giants signed him to a reserve/future contract on January 8, 2024. Houston was waived by the Giants on August 20, 2024.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On October 23, 2024, Houston signed with the

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 14, 2025.

Legal issues

Houston and another football player were charged with aggravated sexual assault during his freshman season at Houston Baptist in 2017.

References

External links

Houston Baptist Huskies bioFullerton Hornets bioWestern Illinois Leathernecks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Dennis 1999 births Living people American football wide receivers Players of American football from San Antonio Western Illinois Leathernecks football players Dallas Cowboys players Houston Christian Huskies football players Fullerton Hornets football players New York Giants players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players