Cullen Gillaspia (born May 12, 1995) 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 wi ...
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
Seattle Seahawks 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 at
Texas A&M
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 ...
.
Early years
Gillaspia attended and played
high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
at
James E. Taylor High School
James E. Taylor High School (THS) is a public high school in unincorporated area, unincorporated Harris County, Texas, in Greater Katy. The school, in Nottingham Country, which serves grades 9 through 12, is part of Katy Independent School Distr ...
.
College career
Gillaspia walked on to the
Texas A&M
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 ...
team as a linebacker. He tied Texas A&M's record for most games played as the 12th Man. Coming into his senior season, Gillaspia moved from linebacker to
fullback as
Jimbo Fisher shifted to a pro-style offense. He started at fullback in every game and rushed for 33 yards on five carries and caught five passes for 52 yards. Gillaspia recorded six tackles on special teams in 2018. In his final play, Gillaspia scored a 13-yard rushing touchdown in A&M's 52-13 win over NC State in the
Gator Bowl, the first touchdown by a 12th man in program history
Professional career
Houston Texans
Gillaspia was drafted by the
Houston Texans in the seventh round, 220th overall, of the
2019 NFL Draft. He played 12 snaps on offense during the regular season. In the AFC wild card game, Gillaspia made a crucial block on two Bills defenders to set up
Deshaun Watson
Derrick Deshaun Watson (born September 14, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson, where he led the team to a national championship in 2 ...
for a touchdown run in a 22-19 overtime victory. In Week 3 of the 2020 regular season, Cullen Gillaspia caught his first career reception, against the
Pittsburgh Steelers. It went for 6 yards.
On December 5, 2020, Gillaspia was placed on injured reserve. He was waived with a "failed physical" designation on March 9, 2021.
New York Giants
Gillaspia signed with the
New York Giants on March 16, 2021. He played in 15 of the 17 games, recording four tackles (two solo).
Seattle Seahawks
On September 28, 2022, Gillaspia was signed to the
Seattle Seahawks practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 12. He was placed on injured reserve on November 12.
References
External links
Texas A&M Aggies bio
1995 births
Living people
People from Katy, Texas
Players of American football from Texas
Sportspeople from Harris County, Texas
American football fullbacks
Houston Texans players
Texas A&M Aggies football players
New York Giants players
Seattle Seahawks players
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