Fernando Velasco (born February 22, 1985) is a former

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

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. He was signed by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

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 ...

in 2008 and was also a member of 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 ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. 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 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Early life

Velasco played offensive tackle for Jefferson County High School in Louisville, Georgia. During this time, he was a starter for all four years and was ranked in Rivals Top 75 Offensive Tackles in the Nation and Top 25 Offensive Tackles in Georgia. He was voted Class AAA First-team All-State by Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Georgia Sportswriter Association.

College career

After graduating from Jefferson County High School, Velasco chose to attend Georgia. As a freshman his role was a backup offensive lineman for the majority of the 2003 season. He did receive the Georgia Football Team's Iron Man Award for his dedication, and showing up to every practice on time. After having a solid spring practice in 2004, Velasco was the number 2 split guard on the roster. He finally received his first career start against Vanderbilt. For the rest of his sophomore season he received playing time as a key backup lineman. He again was awarded the team's Ironman Award for the 2004 season. During his junior year in 2005, Velasco was

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 ...

. Georgia also finally awarded Velasco with the Joseph F. Espy scholarship. Velasco was voted the team's most improved player in 2006. After showing improvement he was the number 1 split guard on the Bulldog's football team. He graduated with a diploma in Health and Physical Education.

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

After declaring for the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

, Velasco was thought to possibly be a 6-7th round pick. After going undrafted he was signed by the Tennessee Titans and wore number 61. He only played in one game for the 2009 season. During the 2010 season, Velasco played left guard and center in all 16 games, starting 3 of them. He had his first career start on October 10 in a 34–27 win over 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 ...

. For the 2011 season he didn't start any regular season games but played in all of them. In 2012, he would have a breakout year starting for the Titans at left guard and center for every regular season contest. He was ranked the 11th best center for the 2012 season.

Pittsburgh Steelers

After becoming a free agent after the 2012 season, he remained on the free agent market until Maurkice Pouncey of the

went down with a torn ACL in Week 1 of the regular season. After coming in and replacing Pouncey at Center, Velasco went down with an achilles tendon injury during a

Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to ...

game against the

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

. He would be placed on injured reserved, being another lineman lost for the injury plagued Steelers 2013 season. He recorded 11 starts for the team that season and would become a free agent at the end of the season.

Carolina Panthers (first stint)

In July 2014, the

announced the signing of Fernando Velasco. He would finally return to wearing his college number of 75 and would play

Guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for the Panthers. Velasco would play both left guard and right guard for the Panthers, starting 7 games and playing in 13.

Tennessee Titans

On June 9, 2015, the Tennessee Titans signed Fernando Velasco, reuniting him with his original team. He was signed after the Titans drafted quarterback

Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks footb ...

and after a horrible 2014 season by Brian Schwenke. Schwenke ranked 32nd among all centers in the NFL. The Titans brought in the five-year veteran to compete for the starting center job and protect the rookie quarterback. On August 30, 2015, it was reported that Velasco had been one of ten players waived from the team.

Carolina Panthers (second stint)

On September 17, 2015, Velasco was signed by the Panthers to play center and back up their four-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

center,

Ryan Kalil Ryan Joseph Kalil (born March 29, 1985) is an American film and television producer and former professional football player. He played as a center in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He was a three-time ...

. After an ankle injury to Kalil, Velasco would start the Week 8 contest against 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 ...

. On February 7, 2016, Velasco was part of the Panthers team that played in

Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) ...

. In the game, the Panthers fell to the

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 ...

by a score of 24–10.

Buffalo Bills

On April 7, 2016, Velasco signed with the

. On September 2, 2016, he was released by the Bills as part of final roster cuts.

Coaching career

On June 2, 2017, Velasco was hired as player relations coordinator for the University of Georgia.

References

External links

Pittsburgh Steelers bio

Tennessee Titans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velasco, Fernando 1985 births Living people American football centers American football offensive guards Georgia Bulldogs football players Buffalo Bills players Carolina Panthers players Pittsburgh Steelers players Tennessee Titans players People from Jefferson County, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Hispanic and Latino American players of American football