Waylon Glenn Prather (born February 16, 1985) is an

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 ...

coach and former punter who coached

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 ...

s and

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 ...

s coach at Cabrillo College and was the head coach at Harbor High School. He played college football at San Jose State and was signed by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, 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 2008. Prather has also been a member of the

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

Early life and college

Born in Felton, California, Prather graduated from San Lorenzo Valley High School in Felton in 2003. Prather redshirted 2003 and punted for the San Jose State Spartans football team from 2004 to 2007 and was part of the 2006 New Mexico Bowl championship team. He was a

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

Special Teams Player of the Week in 2005 and first-team All-WAC pick in 2006. Prather majored in

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, Biomechanics, biomechanical, Pathology, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kines ...

in San Jose State University and was a

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

student teacher A student teacher or prac teacher (''practise teacher'') is a college, university, or graduate student who is teaching under the supervision of a certified teacher in order to qualify for a degree in education. Student teachers undergo such inte ...

in the spring of 2007 Prather graduated from San Jose State with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

in May 2008.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

Prather was signed by the Saints as an undrafted free agent on May 5, 2008, but was waived by the team on August 25.

New York Jets

Prather was signed to the Jets' practice squad on September 17, 2008. He was released a week later on September 24.

Arizona Cardinals

Prather was signed to a future contract by 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 ...

on December 30, 2008.

Coaching and teaching career

Prather became a

personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, providing m ...

with

LA Fitness Fitness International LLC is a North American gym chain with over 700 clubs across the United States and Canada. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Irvine, California. History In 1984, the first LA Fitness was founded by founder C ...

and lived in

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county (United States), county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its Mexico-United States border, border with Mexico. As of the 2020 United States Cen ...

. He then moved to Santa Cruz County and began substitute teaching. In 2012, Prather became

s and

s coach at Cabrillo College, a junior college in Aptos, California. Prather is now a physical education teacher at College Connection Academy in San Jose teaching 7th and 8th graders.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prather, Waylon 1985 births Living people American exercise instructors American football punters Cabrillo Seahawks football coaches San Jose State Spartans football players High school football coaches in California People from Aptos, California People from Felton, California Players of American football from Santa Cruz County, California Schoolteachers from California