Marcus Landon Easley (born November 2, 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 and

special teamer In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He was drafted by the

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

in the fourth round of the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

. 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 ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and graduated from

Frank Scott Bunnell High School Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

in Stratford, Connecticut in 2005.

College career

Easley was recruited out of Bunnell High School and was offered an academic scholarship to the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

. He didn't end up receiving the scholarship, but was accepted to the school. He joined the UConn football team as a walk-on player, but didn't play until his sophomore year, when he played in 10 games, primarily on special teams and as a backup wide receiver. On September 8, 2007, he posted his first and only catch for the season, a 10-yard gain against

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. In his junior year he saw action in 12 games, starting 4 of them, and ended the season with 4 catches for 94 yards. As a senior he played in all 13 games, starting 7 of them, and leading the team with 48 catches for 893 yards and 8 touchdowns. He scored his first touchdown on October 10, 2009, against Pitt. On October 24, 2009, Easley posted a career-high 157 receiving yards in a 28–24 loss at

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. He had a career-high 8 catches on December 5 in a 29–27 home win against

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

. Following the season, he was invited to the 2010

Texas vs The Nation Texas vs The Nation was an American college football all-star bowl game played from 2007 to 2013. Originally played at the Sun Bowl Stadium, the format of the game pitted 50 top-rated college seniors who played college or high school football i ...

all-star game. He ended his college career with 53 receptions for 997 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Professional career

Easley was drafted in the fourth round, 107th Overall by the

in the

. He was the first Connecticut Huskies wide receiver to be drafted 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 ...

. He was the only wide receiver taken by the

in his draft class. Before the start of his rookie season, he was placed on injured reserve after having surgery for a torn meniscus. Easley was put on injured reserve on September 13, 2011, after it was announced that he had a heart ailment, missing his second straight season. On August 31, 2012, Easley was cut by the Bills and signed to their practice squad the following day. He was promoted back to the 53-man roster on November 6, 2012. He made his NFL debut on December 2, 2012, in a home game 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 ...

. He returned his first kickoff for 55 yards, setting up a 26-yard touchdown drive. He again saw action on December 16, 2012, on special teams, but left the game with a hamstring injury. He took the field again on December 30, 2012, against 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 ...

, posting a forced fumble and two special teams tackles. Easley earned a spot on the Bills 2013 roster. He played in all 16 games and led the NFL with 22 special teams tackles. On September 29, 2013, in a home game against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

he recorded a game-high four special teams tackles. On November 10, 2013, against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

he posted his first NFL catch. He ended the game with 2 catches for 13 yards. In the 2014 season, Easley saw action in 9 games on special teams, recording 9 special teams tackles. On December 27, 2015, during a game against 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 ...

, Easley suffered a dislocated kneecap and broke his knee in three places. He was carted to the locker room. He was placed on injured reserve the next day. On March 8, 2017, the

released Easley after he spent six years with the team.

References

External links

Connecticut Huskies Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Easley, Marcus 1987 births Living people African-American players of American football American football wide receivers UConn Huskies football players Buffalo Bills players Players of American football from Connecticut Sportspeople from Bridgeport, Connecticut 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people Ed Block Courage Award recipients