James “Flounder” Economou (born December 6, 1988) 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 ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

. He is one of

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply "Southern") is a public research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it ...

players who entered the AFL in 2010 as a 2009 All-American.

College career

Economou attended

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

. There he was a standout offensive lineman who was named an All-American, All-Region and All-Conference player. He was a starter at guard, helping lead the offense to rank second in the league in rushing and passing yards per game, and first in scoring and total offense.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Prior to the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

, Economou was projected to be undrafted by NFLDraftScout.com. He was rated as the 129th-best offensive lineman in the draft. He was not invited to the

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 Foot ...

, he posted the following numbers during his pro-day workouts at

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

Milwaukee Mustangs

After going undrafted in the

, Economou signed with the Milwaukee Mustangs of the

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 ...

Cleveland Gladiators

Economou was with the

Cleveland Gladiators The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the ...

in 2012.

Iowa Barnstormers

Economou has re-signed with the

Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The Well". Sever ...

for the 2013 season.

References

American football offensive linemen 1988 births Living people Iowa Barnstormers players Milwaukee Mustangs (2009–2012) players Cleveland Gladiators players People from Coram, New York 21st-century American sportsmen {{offensive-lineman-1980s-stub