Chris Pressley (born August 8, 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 with ...

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

. He went

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in 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. T ...

after playing for five years for the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

Badgers. Pressley's maximum

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weight is 770 pounds (349 kg), and he has been videotaped squatting 605 pounds nine times in a row with no assistive equipment.

Early years

Pressley, a 5'11", 260-pound

, was born and raised in

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, just outside

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. He was selected as All-County, All-

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and All-State during his senior year in 2003–04 while playing for Woodbury High School. His high school football coach was former

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Zack Valentine Zack Valentine (born May 29, 1957) is a former professional American football player who played linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles. As a rookie, he won a Super Bo ...

, who won

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as a member of the famous " Steel Curtain" defense.

College career

From 2004 to 2009, Pressley played for the Badgers under head coaches Barry Alvarez (2004–05) and Bret Bielema (2005–09). A broken ankle just before the start of the 2005 season sidelined him for the year, so he used his

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eligibility and stayed for one extra season. Pressley’s collegiate statistics were not outstanding, but his hard work ethic and willingness to sacrifice his body landed him on an NFL roster after going undrafted in 2009.

Professional career

In 2009, Pressley was signed 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 ...

by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. His attempt to make the Bengals' roster was chronicled on the

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series '' Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals''. Pressley failed to make the final cut, but was signed to the Bengals' practice squad after he cleared waivers. On October 28, 2009, Pressley was signed off the Bengals' practice squad to the active roster of 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 ...

. On November 22, Pressley made his NFL regular season debut for the Buccaneers in a 38–7 loss to 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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. Pressley's first career carry came two weeks later on December 6 in a game against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. After starting the 2010 season with the Buccaneers and playing in three games, he was waived on October 23. Cincinnati then re-signed him, and on December 10 was promoted to their roster after cornerback

Rico Murray Derico "Rico" Murray (born August 21, 1988) is an American former professional gridiron football defensive back and linebacker. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football at Kent Sta ...

sustained an ankle injury. Pressley started 10 games for the Bengals in 2011. In March 2012, he signed a two-year contract extension with the team. On September 30, 2012, Pressley scored his first career touchdown when he caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton in a 27–10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Pressley was waived by the Cincinnati Bengals on December 10, 2013. He was signed by the

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 ( ...

on April 14, 2014. He was released on May 19, 2014.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pressley, Chris 1986 births American football fullbacks Cincinnati Bengals players Cleveland Browns players Living people Players of American football from New Jersey Sportspeople from Woodbury, New Jersey Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Wisconsin Badgers football players Woodbury Junior-Senior High School alumni