Billy LaQuayne Yates (born April 15, 1980) is an

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 with ...

coach and former

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

who is an assistant offensive line coach for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Texas A&M and was signed by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

in 2003. Yates also played for the

and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

. He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots in

Super Bowl XXXIX Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League ( ...

Early years

Yates attended

Corsicana High School Corsicana Independent School District is a public school district based in Corsicana, Texas, United States. In addition to Corsicana, the district serves the central Navarro County towns of Angus, Mustang, Oak Valley, Retreat, and Richland. ...

Corsicana, Texas Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 56 miles northeast of Waco, Texas. The population was 23,770 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Navarro County, and an important Agri-busines ...

, where he

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

in football,

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

Playing career

College

After graduating from high school, Yates attended

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

beginning in 1999. He was a reserve offensive lineman in his first two seasons, but started 20 games over his junior and senior seasons in 2001 and 2002.

National Football League

Miami Dolphins

Yates was signed as an

after the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

by the

. He made the Dolphins' 53-man roster out of training camp and saw action in three games as a reserve in 2003. He was waived by the Dolphins on September 5, 2004.

New England Patriots

Yates was signed to the

practice squad In sports, 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. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

of the

on September 11, 2004, where he spent the remainder of the regular season and playoffs until being activated for

. He also began the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

season on the Patriots' practice squad before being activated on November 12 following the loss of starting center Dan Koppen for the season. He was a reserve offensive lineman for the remainder of the season and playoffs, while also seeing time on kickoff coverage units. Yates began yet another season on the practice squad for the Patriots in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, but was activated on October 21 and a game later made his first start on October 30, 2006, against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

in place of an injured

Stephen Neal Stephen Matthew Neal (born October 9, 1976) is a former American football guard who played his entire career for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He is a former world champion in freestyle wrestling and two-time NCAA nat ...

. He would go on to start the Patriots' next two games at right guard but was injured in the second against 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

and was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

, missing the remainder of the season with a broken leg. Yates, for the first time with the Patriots, made the 53-man roster to open the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

season; he started the second game of the year against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, his only start of the year. When Neal began the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, Yates started all seven games that Neal missed. He was inactive or did not play for the remainder of the season once Neal returned. Yates was released by the team on February 17, 2009, only to be re-signed two days later in a salary cap-related move. He was released on September 4, 2009.

Cleveland Browns

Yates was signed by the

on September 16, 2009. He played in seven games during his first season with the Browns, but started none. In 2010 he played in nine games, starting three.

Retirement

On August 15, 2011, Yates announced his intent to retire from football.

Coaching career

Texas A&M

In 2013, Yates was hired by Texas A&M as their strength and conditioning coach.

Texas Tech

In 2014, Yates was hired by

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

as their assistant strength coach.

New England Patriots

During the summer of

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Yates worked with the Patriots as part of the Bill Walsh Minority Fellowship.

Bowling Green State University

In 2017, Yates was hired by Bowling Green State University as their head strength and conditioning coach.

Detroit Lions

On January 7, 2020, Yates was hired by the

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) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

as their assistant offensive line coach.

New England Patriots

In February 2021, Yates joined the

coaching staff as an Offensive assistant and Assistant offensive line coach.

References

External links

Cleveland Browns bioNew England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yates, Billy 1980 births Living people Players of American football from Fort Worth, Texas American football centers American football offensive guards Texas A&M Aggies football players Miami Dolphins players New England Patriots players Cleveland Browns players Texas A&M Aggies football coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders football coaches Bowling Green Falcons football coaches African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people New England Patriots coaches