Lucas Aaron Stocker (July 17, 1988) 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

and fullback who is a free agent. 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 Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

, and was drafted by 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 ...

in the fourth round of 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 has also played for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

Early life

Stocker was born on July 17, 1988, in Berea, Kentucky. He attended Madison Southern High School in Berea where he was an honor student and three-year starter.

College career

Stocker played tight end for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

from 2007 to 2010. He caught 85 passes for 956 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2011 season

Stocker was selected in the fourth round, 104th overall, by the

in the

and signed his contract worth four years on July 28, 2011. Stocker suffered his first injury on the first day he practiced, and was out for a few weeks recovering from a hip injury. He caught his first career pass against the

on September 18, 2011 for a 17-yard gain. He finished the season with 12 receptions for 92 yards and no touchdowns.

2012 season

During the 2012 season under new head coach

Greg Schiano Gregory Edward Schiano (born June 1, 1966) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at Rutgers University, a position he held from 2001 to 2011 and resumed before the 2020 season. Schiano served as the head coach for the Tampa ...

, Stocker saw some slight improvement in play. He also was praised for being a good interior blocker but again had a season shortened by injuries. He finished his sophomore campaign with 16 receptions for 165 yards and 1 touchdown.

2013 season

Stocker was injured during the 2013 season having been on injured reserve. No receptions recorded for the 2013 season.

2014 season

Stocker was healthy for a majority of the season only missing 2 games late in the season due to a concussion. Though his receiving stats were a low 7 receptions for 41 yards and no touchdowns his game took a turn in a more positive direction as an interior blocker as well as moving to Fullback in place of a suspended and injured

Javorskie Lane Jorvorskie Javion Lane (born February 4, 1987) is a former American football fullback. He played tailback and fullback for the Texas A&M Aggies college football team. He played tailback during his freshman through junior seasons, and switched ...

. Stocker's ability to be an effective lead blocker earned great praise and a new role as a blocking full back after the team let last years lead blocking machine

Erik Lorig Erik Lorig (born November 17, 1986) is a former American football Fullback who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played defensive end in college football at Stanford, where he sometimes played both ways as a Tight End ...

go via free agency. He also was a solid special teams contributor.

2015 season

On March 9, 2015, after a strong performance at full back and on special teams, the Buccaneers signed Stocker to a three-year contract extension. He finished the 2015 season with 9 catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.

2016 season

In 2016, Stocker played in 12 games recording 5 catches for 23 yards.

2017 season

On November 28, 2017, Stocker was released by the Buccaneers. Before he was released, he had 3 receptions for 18 yards and a touchdown.

Tennessee Titans

2017 season

On December 4, 2017, Stocker signed a two-year contract with the

. He caught his first reception as a Titan against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

for 12 yards. The Titans finished second in the

AFC South The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 NFL season, 2002 s ...

with a 9–7 record and made the playoffs as a Wild Card team. Stocker appeared in his first two postseason contests but made no receptions in either game.

2018 season

In the season-opener against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

, Stocker caught a season-long pass of 31 yards as the Titans lost by a score of 27-20. On October 21, 2018, in a narrow 20-19 loss to the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

, Stocker caught his first touchdown as a Titan on a 1-yard pass from quarterback

Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted second overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 NFL Draft. Mariota play ...

. He finished the game catching two passes for 11 yards. In the season finale against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

, he caught a 22-yard touchdown from backup quarterback

Blaine Gabbert Blaine Williamson Gabbert (born October 15, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri before leaving early for the 2011 NFL Draft after hi ...

as the Titans lost by a score of 33-17. Overall, Stocker finished the 2018 season with 15 receptions for 165 yards and a season-high two touchdowns.

Atlanta Falcons

On March 14, 2019, Stocker signed a two-year contract with the

. The Falcons released Stocker on March 16, 2020. He was re-signed on August 14, 2020.

Tennessee Titans (second stint)

On July 31, 2021, Stocker signed with the Tennessee Titans. He was released on September 2, 2021.

Minnesota Vikings

On October 13, 2021, Stocker was signed to the

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 4.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Personal life

Stocker is married to Daine Stocker and the couple has three kids: Liam, Collins, and Laurel. He was named Academic All-State in football and basketball. Stocker is also an avid bass fisherman and has participated in several small, local fishing tournaments. His goal is to be on the professional circuit after his NFL playing career is finished.

References

External links

Tennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stocker, Luke 1988 births Living people Players of American football from Lexington, Kentucky American football tight ends Tennessee Volunteers football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Tennessee Titans players Atlanta Falcons players Minnesota Vikings players