Antoine Caldwell (born April 19, 1986) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

. He played college football for the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

, and earned All-American honors. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the third round of the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. ...

. He also played for the Buffalo Bills and

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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

Early years

Caldwell was born in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

. He attended Robert E. Lee High School in Montgomery, where he was a standout lineman for his

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

team. Considered a three-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, Caldwell was listed as the No. 10 center prospect of his class.

College career

Caldwell received an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United ...

to attend the

, where he played for coach

Mike Shula Mike Shula (born June 3, 1965) is an American football coach who is the senior offensive assistant coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). A graduate of the University of Alabama, he was the school's head football coa ...

and coach

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...

Alabama Crimson Tide football The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama (variously Alabama, UA, or Bama) in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Ass ...

teams from 2005 to 2008. As a senior in 2008, he was recognized as a first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) selection and a consensus first-team All-American.

Awards and honors

*2005 Freshman first-team All- SEC (as selected by the league's coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players, and the '' Sporting News'') *2005 ''Sporting News'' freshman All-American *2005

first-team freshman All-American *2006 Second-team All-SEC (Coaches) *2006, 2007, 2008

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College ...

watchlist *2008 Rivals.com All-SEC second-team *2008 All-SEC first-team (Coaches) *2008 consensus first-team All-American (earned consensus status after being selected by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

, and ''Sporting News'')

Professional career

2009 NFL Draft

Caldwell was graded as the No. 3 center available in the

, behind

Alex Mack Javon Alexander Mack (born November 19, 1985) is a former American football center. He played college football for the University of California, Berkeley and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round with the 21st overall of the 2 ...

and

Eric Wood Eric Wood (born March 18, 1986) is a former American football center. He played college football at the University of Louisville and was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft (28th overall) by the Buffalo Bills of the National Foot ...

. As projected, he was the third center selected off the board, in the third round by the Houston Texans.

Houston Texans

From 2009 to 2012, Caldwell played 39 games, including 19 starts, for the Texans.

Buffalo Bills

Caldwell signed with the Buffalo Bills on July 28, 2013. He was released on August 30, 2013.

Jacksonville Jaguars

In May 2014, Caldwell went to Jaguars Rookie Mini-Camp on a tryout basis. He was not offered on contract. However, he was signed to the active roster on August 13, 2014. The Jaguars released Caldwell on August 24, 2014.

References

External links

Houston Texans biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, Antoine 1986 births Living people University of Alabama alumni Alabama Crimson Tide football players All-American college football players American football centers American football offensive guards Houston Texans players Buffalo Bills players Jacksonville Jaguars players Players of American football from Montgomery, Alabama People from Tallassee, Alabama