Shaun Chapas (born May 2, 1988) 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 ...

fullback 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) for 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 ...

and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He played

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at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

Early life

Chapas attended

Bolles School The Bolles School is an American private college preparatory day and boarding school in Jacksonville, Florida. It has a lower school (including pre-kindergarten), a middle school, and a high school, spread across four campuses around the Jackso ...

, where he was named the starter at fullback as a freshman. As a junior, he had 9 rushing touchdowns on 38 carries and 2 receiving touchdowns on 9 catches, while helping his team win the Class AA state title. As a senior, he missed the entire season after tearing his ACL. He was still rated the eighth-best fullback in the nation and fifth on the Florida Top-100 Rivals.com team.

College career

Chapas accepted a football scholarship from the

, where he 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 ...

to recover from his previous injury. After being named the most improved

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

at the conclusion of spring drills in 2007, he appeared in all 13 games with 11 carries for 41 yards and three catches for 22 yards while also playing an important role on special teams and making 12 tackles. The Dawgs concluded the 2007 season with a New Years Day Sugar Bowl Victory over the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Hawaiʻi system and houses the main offic ...

. As a sophomore in 2008, Chapas appeared in all 13 games (6 starts) for the preseason #1 ranked team in the country, while also playing

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He caught nine passes for 120 yards, scored his first career touchdown and made 2 special teams tackles. He was named CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III First-team, earned SEC Academic Honor Roll, Director's Honor Roll distinction for the fall semester, and was named CBS Scholar Athlete of the game versus LSU. As a junior in 2009, he appeared in 12 games (7 starts). He was tabbed by ''

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'' as the "SEC's Best Blocking Back." In addition to his lead blocking, he had seven carries for 45 yards, one rushing touchdown, nine receptions for 50 yards, one receiving touchdownand 4 special teams tackles. As a senior in 2010, Chapas was selected as the team's overall permanent captain. He appeared in 11 games (9 starts), posting 15 carries for 44 yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, 5 receptions for 29 yards, 2 receiving touchdowns and one special teams tackle. At the team's annual awards Gala, he earned the team's Coaches Leadership Award for Special Teams, the Leon Farmer Award for dedication to the strength and conditioning program and the David Jacobs Award as the player who by example portrays courage, spirit, character and determination. He missed the 2010 Liberty Bowl after having ankle surgery.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Chapas was selected by the

in the seventh round (220th overall) 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 was waived on September 3 and was 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 ...

on September 5. On November 29, he was promoted to the active roster after an injury to fullback Tony Fiammetta, making his first professional start against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. He was released on August 31, 2012.

Detroit Lions

On September 2, 2012, the

signed him to their

. On December 14, he was promoted to the regular roster and appeared in the final five games of the season, playing in 3 games (one start). On August 31, 2013, he was waived and re-signed the next day. He was released on October 16, to make room for wide receiver Patrick Edwards.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On November 26, 2013, he was signed to 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 ...

. He was released on May 12, 2014.

Baltimore Ravens

On May 19, 2014, Chapas signed as a

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 ...

with 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 ...

. On August 25, he was waived with an injury settlement, after injuring both of his shoulders during training camp.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapas, Shaun 1988 births Living people Players of American football from St. Augustine, Florida American football fullbacks Georgia Bulldogs football players Dallas Cowboys players Detroit Lions players Jacksonville Jaguars players Bolles School alumni Baltimore Ravens players