T. J. Acree (born July 21, 1982) is a former

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

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 multiple teams in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. From 2005 to 2008, Acree played for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

, and

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

College career

Acree 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

Boise State Broncos The Boise State Broncos are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Boise State University, located in Boise, Idaho. The Broncos compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Mount ...

, starting as a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album) or the title song, 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album) or the title song, 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album) or the title song, 1992 *''Walk On'', by Kellie Coffey, 200 ...

. He wasn't actively recruited by any college football programs out of high school, and Boise State showed little interest in him initially. Boise State invited Acree to walk-on primarily at the recommendation of Broncos coach

Dirk Koetter Dirk Jeffrey Koetter ( ; born February 5, 1959) is an American former college and professional football coach. He recently served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Boise State. He was the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccane ...

's brother, who coached Acree at Highland High School. After redshirting in his true freshman year, he caught a single pass for eight yards in his first year as an active player. He played in seven games as a sophomore but made no receptions. In his junior year, Acree was given a scholarship for the first time and began to play an active role as a receiver. He finished the year with 51 catches for 758 yards and seven

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. Acree's success continued in his final year with the Broncos, as he finished with 55 receptions for 947 yards and eight touchdowns, all career-highs.

Professional career

Acree was signed by the BC Lions in 2005, and he spent most of his time on 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 ...

in his rookie year. The Lions resigned Acree for the 2006 season, and he emerged as a competent receiver, making 28 catches for 266 yards while playing in eight games. In February 2007, the Eskimos signed Acree to a contract. He enjoyed a breakout season, turning 32 receptions into 478 yards. Acree was signed by the Toronto Argonauts and later traded to the Saskatchewean Roughriders. He dealt with a recurring foot injury throughout the 2008 season, and played in only one game with each team.

Legal issues

Acree was arrested on August 26, 2006, while police were responding to an assault. During the incident, police deployed a

taser Taser (stylized in all caps) is a line of handheld conducted energy devices (CED) sold by Axon Enterprise (formerly Taser International). The device fires two small barbed darts intended to puncture the skin and remain attached to the targe ...

against Acree after he allegedly failed to comply with their orders. No charges were filed. Acree stated that he considered pursuing a legal case due to excessive use of force.

Season statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acree, T. J. 1982 births Living people American football wide receivers Players of Canadian football from Idaho Canadian football wide receivers BC Lions players Boise State Broncos football players Edmonton Elks players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Toronto Argonauts players Sportspeople from Pocatello, Idaho Players of American football from Idaho