Chazz Surratt (born February 16, 1997) 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 ...

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for 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 ...

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 ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, where he began his career as a quarterback, and was drafted by 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 the third round of the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

Early years

Surratt attended East Lincoln High School in Denver, North Carolina. A highly regarded high school quarterback, Surratt was a two-time first-team Associated Press all-state selection. During his senior year, Surratt was named Parade National Player of the Year and a Parade All-American, as well as the Associated Press offensive player of the year in North Carolina.

College career

Recruited by Tar Heel coach

Larry Fedora Herbert Lawrence Fedora (born September 10, 1962) is an American football coach and former player who is the former coach and general manager for the New Orleans Breakers of the United States Football League (USFL). He previously served as head c ...

to the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

to play quarterback, Surratt redshirted during his first season with the program. He was named the starting quarterback during his redshirt freshman season, replacing graduate transfer

Brandon Harris Brandon Harris (born January 24, 1990) is an American football coach and former cornerback who is currently the cornerbacks coach at Florida Atlantic University. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He ...

who had struggled to begin the season. Surratt himself struggled with inconsistency and injury throughout 2017, only appearing in nine games, starting seven. After a suspension to start the 2018 season, Surratt became the backup to Nathan Elliott. He appeared in one game during his redshirt sophomore season, sustaining a season-ending injury against

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. When Head Coach

Mack Brown William Mack Brown (born August 27, 1951) is an American college football coach. He is currently in his second stint as the head football coach for the University of North Carolina, where he first coached from 1988 until departing in 1997, whe ...

returned before the 2019 season, Surratt elected to make the switch to linebacker prior to his redshirt junior season rather than transfer to another school for an opportunity to continue to play quarterback. Carolina had just signed the highly-touted

Sam Howell Sam Howell (born September 16, 2000) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina, setting school records for most touchdown passes in a si ...

and also had quarterbacks Cade Fortin and Jace Ruder on the roster, giving Surratt slim chances to crack the quarterback depth chart. The move to linebacker proved to be a revelation, and Surratt had a successful season highlighted by a game-winning interception against rival

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

. In the 2019 season, Surratt started and played in all 13 games and had 115 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery. After the completion of the season, Surratt was named first-team All-ACC at the linebacker position. In his redshirt senior season in 2020, Surratt played in 11 games and finished with 91 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovered. Surratt opted out of participating in the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

against Texas A&M, in order to prepare for the

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Surratt was drafted in the third round (78th overall) of the

by the

2021 season: Rookie year

Entering his inaugural training camp in the NFL, Surratt competed for a starting inside linebacker job against

Nick Vigil Nick Vigil (born August 20, 1993) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Utah State, and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Lo ...

and

Blake Lynch Blake Lynch (born February 14, 1997) is an American football linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Baylor Bears football, Baylor. College career Born in Gilmer, Texas, Lynch ...

. At the conclusion of the preseason, head coach

Mike Zimmer Michael Zimmer (born June 5, 1956) is an American football coach for the Colorado Buffaloes football, Colorado Buffaloes. Prior to this, Zimmer was with Jackson State Tigers football, Jackson State, both college programs being led by Deion Sande ...

named Surratt a backup inside linebacker behind Anthony Barr,

Eric Kendricks Eric-Nathan Marvin Kendricks (born February 29, 1992) is an American football middle linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins. As a senior in 2014, he won the But ...

, and

. Surratt finished his rookie season playing in 9 games (0 starts) and played exclusively on special teams with zero defensive snaps.

2022 season

Surratt competed for a backup inside linebacker job in training camp against rookie

Brian Asamoah Brian Asamoah II (born March 29, 2000) is an American football inside linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma. High school career Asamoah was born to a Ghanaian family an ...

. However, he struggled in the Vikings' preseason games and was seen as an improper fit in the team's new defensive scheme. Surratt was waived on August 30, 2022.

New York Jets

On September 1, 2022, Surratt was signed to the

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023.

Personal life

Surratt's younger brother,

Sage Surratt Sage Surratt (born April 13, 1998) is an American football tight end for the New Orleans Breakers of the United States Football League (USFL). He was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent after not being selected in the 2021 NFL ...

, was an All-Conference wide-receiver at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

References

External links

Minnesota Vikings bioNorth Carolina Tar Heels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Surratt, Chazz 1997 births Living people Players of American football from North Carolina North Carolina Tar Heels football players People from Denver, North Carolina American football quarterbacks American football linebackers All-American college football players Minnesota Vikings players New York Jets players