Thurston Armbrister (born December 25, 1992) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. He signed with 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 ...

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 2015.

Early years

Armbrister was born in 1992 on Christmas morning in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

as the third of five children. His family affectionately nicknamed him "Head" during his childhood due to his head being big in proportion to his body. Armbrister attended Hollywood Hills High School where he played safety. Armbrister also played basketball and ran track and field in high school.

College career

Armbrister signed with the

as late as June 2011 and joined its practice squad as a true freshman. He began his college career in his sophomore year during the 2012 season and went on to play in all the games until his senior year during the 2014 season. While at the University of Miami, Armbrister majored in

exercise physiology Exercise physiology is the physiology of physical exercise. It is one of the allied health professions, and involves the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to exercise. Exercise physiologists are the highest qualified exercise ...

with a back-up plan to start a career as a

physical therapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease prevention ...

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

On May 2, 2015, Armbrister signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent following the conclusion of the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Jaguars.

Detroit Lions

On September 4, 2016, Armbrister was claimed off waivers by the Lions. On September 2, 2017, Armbrister was waived by the Lions and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on September 30, 2017. He was waived on October 11, 2017 and was re-signed to the practice squad. He was released on November 29, 2017, but re-signed two days later.

New York Giants

On January 9, 2018, Armbrister signed a futures contract with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He was waived/injured on August 20, 2018 due to a hamstring injury and was placed on injured reserve. He was released on October 2, 2018.

Arizona Cardinals

On November 28, 2018, Armbrister was signed to 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 ...

practice squad, and promoted to the active roster two days later. He was placed on injured reserve on December 11, 2018. On February 20, 2019, Armbrister was waived by the Cardinals.

Tampa Bay Vipers

Armbrister signed with the XFL's Team 9

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 ...

during the regular season. He was signed off of Team 9 by the Tampa Bay Vipers on March 9, 2020. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Personal life

Armbrister has an older brother Terrence Ebagua who was a walk-on tight end at

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

and went on to play in the Professional Indoor Football League. Armbrister had a younger sister born a year after him, who died at age 3.Miami Herald.com
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References

External links

Thurston Armbrister
at NFL.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Armbrister, Thurston 1992 births Living people Players of American football from Hollywood, Florida Armbrister, Thurston American football linebackers Miami Hurricanes football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Detroit Lions players New York Giants players Arizona Cardinals players Team 9 players Tampa Bay Vipers players