Kevin Ogletree (born August 5, 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 ...

wide receiver 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 ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

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

. He signed with the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2009. 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 ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Early years

Ogletree attended Holy Cross High School. As a junior, he had 40 receptions for 1,027 yards and 10 touchdowns, while earning All-conference honors. As a senior, he set league records with 61 catches for 1,170 yards and 19

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s (one shy of the state record). He also played

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 ...

and had 5 interceptions. He contributed to the team winning a conference championship, while earning Player of the Year honors by Newsday and the New York Daily News. He

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. He was an Honor Roll student.

College career

Ogletree accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a true freshman, he appeared in 7 games as a backup wide receiver, making 7 receptions for 27 yards. As a sophomore, he appeared in all 12 games, starting 9 of the final 10 contests. He led the team with 52 receptions for 582 receiving yards and 4

s. His best game came against the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, when he registered 133 yards on 3 receptions. In 2007, he missed his junior season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury in his left knee, that he suffered during spring drills. Ogletree returned in 2008 as a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

junior, starting all 12 games, while leading the team with 58 receptions for 723 yards and 5

s. He declared for 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 ...

at the end of the season. He left school as one of only 26 players in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

history with two-50 receptions seasons in a career. At the time, he ranked seventh in school history with 117 career receptions and 13th with 1,332 receiving yards.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Ogletree was signed by the

as an

after 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 ...

. On September 6, he was rewarded with a spot on the 53-man roster over seventh round draft choice

Manuel Johnson Manuel Johnson (born October 14, 1986) is a former wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Oklahoma. Early years Johnson attended North Garland High School as ...

. He registered 7 receptions for 96 yards as a backup wide receiver. He was second on the team with 8 kickoff returns for 166 yards In

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, he was declared inactive for most of the season, until he had a chance to play more with starter

Dez Bryant Desmond Demond Bryant (born November 4, 1988) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma State, where he earned All-American honors in 2008. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fir ...

out for the season with a fractured ankle. Ogletree injured his right big toe and was placed on the

injured reserve list 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 December 15. He appeared in 6 games, posting 3 receptions for 34 yards. In

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, he appeared in 14 games, making 15 receptions for 164 yards and 6 kickoff returns for 114 yards. He had his first career start in place of an injured Bryant (thigh), making 2 receptions for 50 yards in the 27–24 overtime win against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. In

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, he earned the third-receiver position and finished the season opener against the

with career highs in receptions (8), receiving yards (114) and

s (2). He ended up being passed on the depth chart by second-year player

Dwayne Harris Dwayne Lenard Harris (born September 16, 1987) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at East Car ...

. He finished with 32 receptions for 436 yards and 4 touchdowns. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 13,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, Ogletree signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

. On October 1, he was released after four games, at the time, he was third on the team with 8 receptions for 70 yards and one

Detroit Lions

On October 2,

, he signed with the

following an injury to the Lions'

Nate Burleson Nathaniel Eugene Burleson (born August 19, 1981) is a Canadian-born television host, American football commentator, and former wide receiver. He played college football for the University of Nevada, Reno and was drafted into the National Footb ...

. According to Ogletree, "Who doesn't want to go play with

Calvin Johnson Calvin Johnson Jr., (born September 29, 1985) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons with the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Georgia Tech, where he twice ...

and

Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected f ...

and

Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush Jr. (born March 2, 1985) is an American former football running back who now serves as an on-air college football analyst for Fox Sports. He played college football at USC, where he earned consensus All-American honors twi ...

? It's a perfect opportunity." In

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, he recorded 13 receptions for 199 yards and one touchdown. The touchdown came from a one handed catch during the Thanksgiving game against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. On September 20, he was released to make room for

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

Mohammed Seisay Mohammed Seisay (born May 22, 1990) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Nebraska Cornhuskers football, Nebraska. Seisay signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2014, and played for the Seat ...

New York Giants

On October 14,

, Ogletree was signed by the

to replace an injured Victor Cruz. He was waived on May 7,

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogletree, Kevin 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Queens, New York Players of American football from New York City Holy Cross High School (Flushing) alumni American football wide receivers Virginia Cavaliers football players Dallas Cowboys players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Detroit Lions players New York Giants players