Christopher James Colmer (November 21, 1980 – December 28, 2010) was 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 ...

offensive tackle 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 ...

in 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 professionally for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

Early life

Colmer graduated from Earl L. Vandermeulen High School, located in his hometown of

Port Jefferson, New York Port Jefferson (informally known as "Port Jeff") is an incorporated village in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Officially known as the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, the population ...

. He was named to the All-Long Island squad and the Golden 50 All-State team, where he was a team captain playing tackle. He was also a ''

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'' honorable mention

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

College career

Colmer went to college at

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

and was the first person from his high school to earn a Division I

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

in 27 years. In his junior year, he was co-winner of the teams' Jim Richter Award, giving annually by North Carolina State to the team's best offensive lineman. In 2003, he missed his college season due to

Parsonage Turner Syndrome A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

Professional career

Colmer was drafted 91st in the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...

. The

received this pick in a trade with 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 ...

. He spent his entire rookie season in 2005 as a gameday inactive. During the 2006 offseason, he suffered another bout of Parsonage–Turner syndrome and spent the entire year on injured reserve. He was released in June 2007 after failing a physical.

Death

Colmer was teaching as a technology teacher at Little Flower U.F.S.D. and coaching at

Centereach High School Centereach High School is a public high school in the Middle Country Central School District located in Centereach, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. It teaches a college preparatory curriculum for grades nine through twelve. The total mino ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

in New York, when he died at the age of thirty on December 28, 2010.

References

External links

ESPN.com statsTampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colmer, Chris 1980 births 2010 deaths People from Port Jefferson, New York Sportspeople from Brookhaven, New York Players of American football from Suffolk County, New York American football offensive tackles NC State Wolfpack football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players