Donald Charles Buckey (born November 9, 1953) 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 ...

wide receiver in the

NFL 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 major ...

for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. Buckey was the seventh player taken in the twelfth round of the

1976 NFL Draft The 1976 National Football League draft was an annual player selection meeting held April 8–9, 1976, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York. The draft lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks m ...

directly before his twin brother Dave Buckey. Don is the receiving half of

NC 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 university ...

's Buckey Twins. Don was a member of the

1975 College Football All-America Team The 1975 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1975. The National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

and the

NC State Wolfpack football The NC State Wolfpack football team represents North Carolina State University in the sport of American football. The Wolfpack competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ...

team.

College career

Buckey played four years at North Carolina State University for head coach Lou Holtz, setting career receptions and receiving yardage records while playing with twin brother quarterback Dave. He led the team in receptions in 1973, ’74 and ’75 and his 102 career catches for 1,735 yards rank him fifth and fourth, respectively, on the all-time N.C. State list. He caught five touchdown passes in 1974, including two against Duke, and had a career-high 34 receptions and gained 551 yards in 1975. Don’s 17 yards per catch and total 1735 receiving yards put him fourth on the school’s career rankings in both categories. He started on the 1973 Atlantic Coast Conference championship team and was named first-team All-ACC and first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association in 1975. With his brother, Dave, he appeared on the cover of ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine (October 30, 1972) They also played in four post-season bowl games, including two Peach Bowls, a Bluebonnet Bowl and a Liberty Bowl. He also played in the Hula Bowl and the Japan All-Star games.

NFL career

The New York Jets drafted him in the twelfth round and he played one year in the National Football League in

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former football player, coach, and analyst. He served as the head football coach at The College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the New York ...

’s only year as a coach. At 6’0", Don gathered in five passes good for 36 yards in limited duty as a wide receiver in 1976. Don and his twin Dave Buckey are both members of the

Summit County, Ohio Summit County is an urban county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 540,428, making it the fourth-most populous county in Ohio. Its county seat and largest city is Akron. The county was formed on March 3, 1840, ...

Hall of Fame, the Kenmore High School (Akron, OH) Wall of Fame, and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Legends class of 2013. The Buckey twins played on two City Series championship teams for head coach Richard Fortner at Kenmore High School (Akron, OH) and played together in the Ohio-Pennsylvania Big 33 All-Star Game in 1972. Don earned a Sport Pilot Certificate in 2006, currently owning and flying N293CT, a 2006 Flight Design CTsw light sport aircraft.

Personal life

His family includes: Father, Carroll. Mother, Jessie. Brothers, Jim, Dan, and twin Dave. Sister, Carolyn McDaniel. He married Elaine Hartofelis Buckey, on May 22, 1976. They have had no children. He is currently retired and living in The Villages, FL.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckey, Don 1953 births Living people American football wide receivers New York Jets players NC State Wolfpack football players Players of American football from Akron, Ohio