Le'Nard Damon Castile, Jr (born September 7, 1987) 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 with ...

wide receiver for the

Idaho Horsemen The Idaho Horsemen are a professional indoor football team based out of Nampa, Idaho, with home games at the Ford Idaho Center. They are owned by Chris Reynolds from Platinum Events & Security LLC. In 2019, the team owners founded the American We ...

of the

American West Football Conference The American West Football Conference (AWFC) is a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2018 by Platinum Events & Security, LLC, the owners of the Idaho Horsemen. The league's inaugural season was in 2019. Players are ...

. He was assigned to the

New Orleans VooDoo Louisiana Voodoo (french: Vaudou louisianais, es, Vudú de Luisiana), also known as New Orleans Voodoo, is an African diasporic religion which originated in Louisiana, now in the southern United States. It arose through a process of syncretis ...

after going undrafted in the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

. 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 ...

Delta State University Delta State University (DSU) is a public university in Cleveland, Mississippi Cleveland is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,199 as of the 2020 United States Census. Cleveland has a large commercia ...

Early life

Born the son of Pamela D. Castile, L.J. attended

La Marque High School La Marque High School is a public high school in La Marque, Texas, United States in Greater Houston. The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Texas City Independent School District (TCISD); prior to July 1, 2016, the school ...

in La Marque, Texas. He was listed as an All-Region selection by Prep Star magazine, and a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 47 quarterback by

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

. Picked up a three-star ranking by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

. He was a member of the Houston Chronicle Top 100 list and selected to the State 100 by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Helped lead the team to a 13-1 record and a Regional Championship. He won district 23-4A MVP and also Player of the Year. He was selected by

Galveston Daily News ''The Daily News'', formerly the ''Galveston County Daily News'' and ''Galveston Daily News'', is a newspaper published in Galveston, Texas, United States. It was first published April 11, 1842, making it the oldest newspaper in the U.S. state of ...

to its All-Country First-team. Threw for 1,155 yards and 17 touchdowns and rushed for 718 yards and 11 scores as a senior. Completed 93 of 179 passes for 1,200 yards and 6 touchdowns and had 90 rushes for 387 yards as a junior. Also lettered in basketball and was ’04-’05 Co-MVP and won the Dennis Rodman Award.

College career

Houston

Castile continued his athletic career at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

. His first year, he

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

, then he lettered three seasons (’07-’09). Made collegiate debut against the Oregon Ducks in ’07. For his career with the Cougars, had 60 receptions for 854 yards and 16 touchdowns, while accounting for three blocked kicks

Delta State

In 2010, Castile transferred to

. There he helped lead the Statesmen to the

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 ...

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

game by leading the Statesmen receiving corps in all categories with 67 catches for 900 yards and 13 touchdowns. He had many long receptions for big gains including a long of 56 for an overall average 13.4. Also rushed on reverse sweeps three times for 28 yards. Threw one pass for 38 yards versus

Ouachita Baptist Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) is a private Baptist university in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The university's name is taken from the Ouachita (pronounced WAH-shi-tah) River, which forms the eastern campus boundary. It is affiliated with the Arka ...

. Had nine catches for 89 yards and three touchdowns versus West Alabama, including the game-winner with nineteen seconds remaining. Pulled down seven catches for 80 yards and a touchdown in the championship game. Named First-team All-

Gulf South Conference The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States. History Originally known as the Mid ...

. First-team

Daktronics Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video displays, scoreboards, digital billboards, dynamic message signs, sound systems, and related products. Founded in 1968 by ...

All Super Regional Team. Third-team

Don Hansen Donald Ray Hansen, (born August 20, 1944) is a former professional American football linebacker in the NFL from 1966 to 1977. He was known as an extremely hard hitter and an underrated as well as overachieving linebacker. Hansen was a member o ...

All-Super Region II team selection. Impressed scouts at the

Cactus Bowl The Guaranteed Rate Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played in the state of Arizona since 1989. Played as the Copper Bowl from inception through 1996, it was known as the Insight.com Bowl from 1997 through 2001, then ...

with 3 receptions for 122 yards and a score.

Professional career

New Orleans VooDoo

Signed with the

on June 21, 2011.

Cleveland Browns

Signed with 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 ( ...

for training camp.

Utah Blaze

Castile has signed with the

Utah Blaze The Utah Blaze was a professional arena football team based in Salt Lake City, Utah and competed in the West Division (AFL), West Division of the Arena Football League. Home games were played at the EnergySolutions Arena. In 2013, the team did ...

for the 2013 season.

Return to New Orleans VooDoo

On May 15, 2013, The Blaze traded Castile to the New Orleans VooDoo, along with Bryce Tennison, for future considerations.

Chicago Slaughter

On December 5, 2013, Castile signed with the Chicago Slaughter of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL). When the Slaughter folded, he re-joined the VooDoo.

Los Angeles KISS

On June 19, 2014, Castile was traded to the Los Angeles KISS for future considerations. On July 16, 2015, Castile was activated by the KISS.

Ottawa Redblacks

Castile was signed to the Ottawa Redblacks practice roster on September 29, 2014. On June 5, 2015, Castile was released.

Jacksonville Sharks

On March 10, 2016, Castile was assigned to the Jacksonville Sharks. On March 25, 2016, Castile was placed on recallable reassignment.

Bloomington Edge

On October 31, 2016, Castile was assigned to the

Bloomington Edge The Bloomington Edge was a professional indoor football team based in Bloomington, Illinois. While it was in operation, the team hosted home games at Grossinger Motors Arena. Originally named the Bloomington Extreme, the team was a member of Unit ...

. He was released on April 5, 2017.

Washington Valor

On June 1, 2017, Castile was assigned to the Washington Valor. On July 7, 2017, Castile was placed on reassignment. On July 12, 2017, Castile was placed on league suspension.

Georgia Doom

Castile signed with the

Georgia Doom The Georgia Doom were a professional indoor football team based out of Macon, Georgia. They play their home games at Macon Coliseum. They started as a midseason road team filling in for the folded Dayton Wolfpack in the National Arena League in 20 ...

for the 2018 season.

References

External links

L.J. Castile - Cleveland Browns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castile, L. J. 1987 births Living people American football wide receivers Chicago Slaughter players Cleveland Browns players Houston Cougars football players Delta State Statesmen football players Edmonton Elks players Los Angeles Kiss players New Orleans VooDoo players People from La Marque, Texas Sportspeople from Galveston County, Texas Saskatchewan Roughriders players Utah Blaze players Jacksonville Sharks players Bloomington Edge players Washington Valor players American Arena League players Players of American football from Texas