Darrell Stuckey, Jr. (born June 16, 1987) 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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

. He played college football at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. Stuckey was an All-Big 12 First-team selection in 2008 and was considered one of the top safeties available in the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

. He was drafted by 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 ...

in the fourth round of the

High school

Stuckey attended Washington High School in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

College career

In his sophomore season in 2007, Stuckey started all 13 games at safety and was fourth on the team in tackles with 72. In his junior season in 2008, Stuckey ranked second on the team in tackles with 98, the most by a Jayhawk defensive back since Tony Stubbs in 2003. He also led the team with five interceptions. In November 2009, he was named one of the twelve semifinalists for the 2009

Jim Thorpe Award The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Paycom ...

. On June 10, 2010, he was named the Big 12 Sportsman of the Year for 2009-10. Stuckey’s 295 career tackles at Kansas were second-most all time among Jayhawks defensive backs. Only former NFL great Leroy Irvin (347) had more. As a junior, Stuckey tallied 93 tackles and became the Jayhawks’ first non-linebacker to lead the team in tackles since 2000. Stuckey was officially inducted into the Kansas Football Ring of Honor in 2019.

Professional career

Stuckey was drafted by the

in the fourth round (110th overall) of the

. In addition to his tackle totals in 2012, Stuckey led the NFL with six punts downed inside the 20, while also forcing a team-high two fumbles, recovering an onside kick and tallying six tackles inside the 20. The 2012 season was no exception as for the second year in a row, Stuckey tied for the team lead with 12 special teams stops. He did so despite ending the season on injured reserve and not playing in the team’s final three games. His total of 24 special teams tackles over those two seasons is tied for eighth-most in the NFL, and all but one of the players with more have played in the full 32 games, while Stuckey played in just 26. The 2013 season saw Stuckey as special teams captain for the second year in a row. He played all 16 games, making 21 special team stops and recovering 2 fumbles. He re-signed with the Chargers on March 8, 2014, keeping him in San Diego on a multi-year deal. For the 2014 season Stuckey was voted special teams captain again for the third year in a row. Against the Seahawks, Stuckey recovered a fumble from

Percy Harvin William Percival Harvin III (born May 28, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Florida, when the Gators won the BCS National Championship in 2006 and 2008, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings o ...

, helping the Chargers to win the game. In the Patriots game, Stuckey recovered a fumble forced by Jahleel Addae and returned it for his first NFL touchdown. Stuckey put up career-high stats of 27 tackles, 2 passes defended, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 touchdown, leading him to his first Pro Bowl. For the fourth consecutive year in 2015, Stuckey was voted the Chargers' special teams captain. On August 4, 2017, Stuckey was released by the Chargers after failing his physical. On March 15, 2021 Stuckey was hired as the Director of Football Relations for the University of Kansas football program.

Personal life

Stuckey married Lacie Stuckey, previously Reed, a former manager for the

Kansas Jayhawks basketball The Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Kansas. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference. Kansas is considered o ...

team and the older sister of former Jayhawks guard

Tyrel Reed Tyrel Reed (born April 8, 1989) is an American former basketball player who played for University of Kansas. He is the winningest player in KU Jayhawks history, with a combined record of 132–17 record in his four seasons at the University of ...

, on Saturday, April 9, 2011. On February 13, 2013, the couple welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Jayton James Stuckey. Stuckey is one of the Chargers’ most-active players in the community. As a student at Kansas, he was not only one of the school’s most talented athletes, but also one of its most popular and academically gifted. Raised by a single mother, Michele Foulks, Stuckey graduated in four years and was named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. He was also one of the Jayhawks’ most active participants in student government and community service. Stuckey enjoys delivering motivational speeches and regularly volunteers to lend a helping hand with community projects in San Diego. Stuckey is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. Stuckey established "Living4One", an organization to "help people discover that they were created to influence the world in a positive way" through living for

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

References

External links

Los Angeles Chargers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stuckey, Darrell 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Kansas City, Kansas Players of American football from Kansas American football safeties Kansas Jayhawks football players San Diego Chargers players Los Angeles Chargers players Unconferenced Pro Bowl players