Garrett Gilkey (born July 9, 1990) 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 ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

who played in 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 was drafted 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 ( ...

in the seventh round of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

and also played for 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 ...

. 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 ...

Chadron State Chadron State College is a public college in Chadron, Nebraska, US. It is one of three public colleges in the Nebraska State College System. It has open admission and an acceptance rate of 100%. According to College Factual, it has a six-year g ...

Early life and college career

Gilkey was born in Lemont, Illinois, a village southwest of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Gilkey grew up in

Naperville Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is in the Chicago metro area, west of the city. Naperville was founded in 1831 by Joseph Naper. The city was established by the banks of the DuPage river, ...

and moved with his parents and four siblings to the town of

Sandwich, Illinois Sandwich is a city in DeKalb and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 7,421 at the 2010 census and 7,221 at the 2020 census. History The town's history is tied to politician "Long John" Wentworth and his efforts t ...

at age 12. As a freshman, Gilkey attended

Sandwich Community High School Sandwich Community High School is a public four-year secondary education school located in Sandwich, Illinois, about 60 miles from Chicago. The high school is part of Sandwich Community Unit School District 430. The school is a member of the Int ...

but transferred to

Aurora Christian High School Aurora Christian Schools (ACS) is a private Christian school with grades preschool through high school in Aurora, Illinois. It opened as a Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical ...

in nearby Aurora. After graduating from Aurora Christian High in 2008, Gilkey enrolled at

Chadron State College Chadron State College is a public college in Chadron, Nebraska, US. It is one of three public colleges in the Nebraska State College System. It has open admission and an acceptance rate of 100%. According to College Factual, it has a six-year g ...

, an

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

school in northwestern

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. At Chadron State, Gilkey played in 37 games with 34 starts and earned first-team All-American honors from D2Football.com. Gilkey was one of three Division II players invited to the

2012 Senior Bowl The 2012 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2011 college football season, and prospects for the 2012 Draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The 63rd edition of the Senior B ...

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

On April 27, 2013, he was selected by the

in the seventh round, 227 overall pick of the

. On May 24, 2013, he agreed to a four-year deal with the Browns.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Gilkey was claimed off waivers by the

on September 1, 2014. On July 26, 2016, Gilkey was waived by Tampa Bay due to a failed physical.

Personal life

Gilkey received a

Master of Engineering A Master of Engineering (abbreviated MEng, M.E. or M.Eng.) is either an academic or professional master's degree in the field of engineering. International variations Australia In Australia, the Master of Engineering degree is a research deg ...

from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and his MBA from the

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

. He is the president and CEO of HGC Development Group, a design-build firm based in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

References

External links

Chadron State Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilkey, Garrett 1990 births Living people Chadron State Eagles football players Cleveland Browns players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players American football offensive guards Players of American football from Naperville, Illinois People from Sandwich, Illinois People from Lemont, Illinois