Cornelius Ingram (born June 10, 1985) 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. 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 ...

and

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. He was drafted by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

in the fifth 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. T ...

and spent three seasons with the team, appearing in no regular season games and spending much of his tenure on the team's

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, ...

. He spent time on 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 ...

' practice squad in 2011 after he was waived by the Eagles during final roster cuts before the start of the season.

College career

Ingram accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

, where he played for coach

Ron Zook Ronald Andrew Zook (; born April 28, 1954) is an American football coach and former player who currently serves as the Defensive Coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL. He was the head football coach at the University of Florida from ...

and coach

Urban Meyer Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is a college football TV commentator and former American football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green Falcons fro ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of ...

teams from 2004 to 2007. He practiced at quarterback on the scout team for the Gators but did not see any game action. He was the scout team "Player of the Week" vs. Arkansas. He joined coach

Billy Donovan William John Donovan Jr. (born May 30, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He has served as head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) since September 2020 after previously coa ...

's Florida Gators basketball team October 15 for practice and played in 19 games as a true freshman on that squad as a

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

. As a football redshirt freshman in 2005, Ingram played in two games in the season that saw him move from quarterback to tight end. He saw action at quarterback in the victory over Louisiana Tech, directing one offensive drive in the fourth quarter. He appeared in several offensive plays at wide receiver throughout the 2006 Outback Bowl against the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

. The Gators won 31–24. As a sophomore in 2006, he played a role in the Florida Gators' 2006 BCS National Championship. He finished the year with 30

reception Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to: Astrology * Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another ...

s for 380 yards. Following his 2007 junior season, Ingram was recognized as a second-team All-SEC selection by the Associated Press and conference coaches. He was also a candidate for the

John Mackey Award The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, a ...

presented to the nation's best tight end. On August 6, 2008, Ingram seriously injured knee ligaments during fall practice. As a result, he missed his entire senior season.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Ingram was drafted by the

in the fifth round (153rd overall) of the

on April 26, 2009, and eventually signed a four-year, $1.9 million contract. Ingram tore his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

during Philadelphia's training camp in 2009. This was the same injury that kept Ingram from playing his senior season at

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. He 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 ...

on September 1, 2009. He was waived on September 4, 2010 during final cuts, but was re-signed to the Eagles'

on November 11. He was released from the practice squad on December 16. He was re-signed to the practice squad on December 22. His practice squad contract expired after the conclusion of the season. He was re-signed to a future contract on January 11, 2011. He was waived during final cuts on September 2.

Detroit Lions

The

signed Ingram to their practice squad on September 7, 2011. He was placed on the practice squad/injured list on September 13 and was released with an injury settlement on September 28.

Denver Broncos

The

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

signed Ingram to their practice squad on December 27, 2011. On January 16, 2012, Ingram was signed to a reserve/future contract. On August 31, 2012, Ingram was waived and did not make the final 53-man roster. On September 1, 2012, Ingram cleared waivers and was placed on the practice squad. On September 27, 2012, he was released by the Broncos.

Post-playing career

In December 2014, Ingram became the head football coach at his alma mater, Hawthorne High School (Florida). He had previously served as volunteer coach there. In addition to his football activities, Ingram coached the Hawthorne girls basketball team to win the Florida 1A state championship in 2020 and 2023. His football program was state runner-up in Florida division 1A in both 2020 and 2021. Ingram led the hornets to their first state title in 2022, beating Northview 13–2 on December 10, 2022. Hawthorne repeated as state champs the following year, defeating Madison County 22–13.

References

Bibliography

*Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). .

External links

*
Philadelphia Eagles bioFlorida Gators bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingram, Cornelius 1985 births Living people People from Hawthorne, Florida Players of American football from Florida African-American players of American football American football tight ends American football quarterbacks Florida Gators football players Florida Gators men's basketball players Philadelphia Eagles players American men's basketball players Shooting guards 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people