Lucas Aaron Stocker (July 17, 1988) 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 ...

coach and former

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

and fullback who is currently the tight ends coach for 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 ...

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

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

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

, and was selected by 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 ...

in the fourth round of 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 ...

. He also played for the Tennessee Titans,

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. During his playing career, Stocker was a notably skilled blocker. Because of his blocking ability, Stocker was often the primary blocking specialist (a term used to designate tight ends who specialize in blocking) and the fullback of many teams that he played for. Stocker specifically often played fullback when playing in the offense of coach Dirk Koetter, who he played with in Tampa Bay from 2015 to 2018 and Atlanta from 2019 to 2020.

Early life

Stocker was born on July 17, 1988, in

Berea, Kentucky Berea ( ) is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Madison County, Kentucky, Madison County, Kentucky, in the United States. The town is best known for its art festivals, historic restaurants and buildings, and as the home to Ber ...

. He attended Madison Southern High School in Berea where he was an honor student and three-year starter.

College career

Stocker played tight end at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

for the

Volunteers Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...

from 2007 to 2010. He scored his first college touchdown in a game against Alabama in the 2007 season. In the 2009 season opener against Western Kentucky, he had two receiving touchdowns in the win. He caught 85 passes for 956 yards and eight touchdowns.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2011 season

Stocker was selected in the fourth round, 104th overall, by the

in the

and signed his contract worth four years on July 28, 2011. Stocker suffered his first injury on the first day he practiced, and was out for a few weeks recovering from a hip injury. He caught his first career pass against the

on September 18, 2011, for a 17-yard gain. He finished the season with 12 receptions for 92 yards and no touchdowns.

2012 season

During the 2012 season under new head coach

Greg Schiano Gregory Edward Schiano (born June 1, 1966) is an American football coach. He is currently the head football coach at Rutgers University, a position he held from 2001 to 2011 and resumed before the 2020 season. Schiano has the most wins in program ...

, Stocker finished with 16 receptions for 165 yards and one touchdown.

2013 season

Stocker played in two games before going on injured reserve in the 2013 season.

2014 season

Stocker was mostly healthy during the 2012 season, playing in all but two games (due to a concussion).

2015 season

On March 9, 2015, after a strong performance at full back and on special teams, the Buccaneers signed Stocker to a three-year contract extension. He finished the 2015 season with nine catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.

2016 season

In 2016, Stocker played in 12 games and started ten.

2017 season

On November 28, 2017, Stocker was released by the Buccaneers. Before he was released, he scored a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints in Week 9.

Tennessee Titans (first stint)

2017 season

On December 4, 2017, Stocker signed a two-year contract with the

. He caught his first reception as a Titan against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

for 12 yards. The Titans finished second in the

AFC South The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 NFL season, 200 ...

with a 9–7 record and made the playoffs as a Wild Card team. Stocker appeared in his first two postseason games that season.

2018 season

In the season-opener against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, Stocker caught a season-long pass of 31 yards as the Titans lost by a score of 27–20. On October 21, 2018, in a narrow 20–19 loss to the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

, Stocker caught his first touchdown as a Titan on a 1-yard pass from 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 ...

. He finished the game catching two passes for 11 yards. In the season finale 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 ...

, he caught a 22-yard touchdown from backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert as the Titans lost by a score of 33–17. Overall, Stocker finished the 2018 season with 15 receptions for 165 yards and a season-high two touchdowns.

Atlanta Falcons

On March 14, 2019, Stocker signed a two-year contract with the

. In the 2019 season, he appeared in 15 games and started nine. The Falcons released Stocker on March 16, 2020. He was re-signed on August 14, 2020. In the 2020 season, he appeared in 16 games and started 13.

Tennessee Titans (second stint)

On July 31, 2021, Stocker signed with the Tennessee Titans. He was released on September 2, 2021.

Minnesota Vikings

On October 13, 2021, Stocker was signed to the

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 4. He appeared in 12 games for the Vikings in the 2021 season.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Personal life

Stocker is married and has three kids. Stocker is an avid bass fisherman.

References

External links

Tennessee Volunteers bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stocker, Luke 1988 births Living people Players of American football from Lexington, Kentucky American football tight ends Tennessee Volunteers football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Tennessee Titans players Atlanta Falcons players Minnesota Vikings players Coaches of American football from Kentucky Tennessee Titans coaches American football fullbacks