Marshawn "Mardy" Gilyard (born December 2, 1986) is a current

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 who is a free agent and current

defensive backs In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

coach at

Nichols College Nichols College is a private business college in Dudley, Massachusetts. Founded in 1815 as Nichols Academy, Nichols College offers both bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as certificate programs. History Nichols Academy The instituti ...

. He was drafted by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

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 ...

the University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

Early years

Gilyard attended

Flagler Palm Coast High School Flagler Palm Coast High School (FPCHS) is a public high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' ...

Palm Coast, Florida Palm Coast is a city in Flagler County, Florida. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,180, more than twice the 32,832 counted in 2000. The population was estimated to be 89,800 in 2019. It is the most populous city in Flagler ...

, where he was a first-team Class 5A all-state selection. He capped his career with over 2,500 yards and 30 touchdowns and was named MVP of the Florida Coast All-Star Game. Considered only a two-star recruit 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 ...

'', Gilyard was not ranked among the nation's best wide receiver prospects. He committed to Cincinnati on February 2, 2005.

College career

Gilyard played

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 ...

as a freshman in 2005. He finished the season with seven tackles. As a sophomore in 2006 he was

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 ...

due to academic reasons. In 2007 Gilyard started 7 of 12 games at wide receiver for the Bearcats. He finished the season with 36 receptions for 536 yards and 3

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

. In 2008, he recorded 81 receptions for 1,276 yards and 11 touchdowns. As a senior in 2009 he was an All-American after he had 87 receptions for 1,191 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was selected to play in the

2010 Senior Bowl The 2010 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2009 college football season, and prospects for the 2010 Draft of the professional National Football League (NFL), as well as for the United Footb ...

and was the offensive player of the game after he had 103 yards on five receptions and a touchdown. Gilyard finished his college career with 204 receptions for 3,003 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Professional career

Pre-draft

St. Louis Rams

Gilyard was drafted in the fourth round with the 99th overall pick by the

in the

. On June 28, 2010, Gilyard signed a four-year $2.32 million contract with a signing bonus of $552,000. In his rookie season, he saw action in 11 games (including two starts), totaling six receptions for 63 yards (a 10.3 average) and 16 kick returns for 356 yards (a 22.3 average) He was released by the Rams in the final cutdown after the fourth preseason game in the 2011 preseason.

New York Jets

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 ...

claimed Gilyard off waivers on September 4, 2011. However, he was waived by the Jets on September 9.

Philadelphia Eagles

Gilyard worked out for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

in September 2011 and met with the team again on January 5, 2012. He was signed to a futures contract the following day. On August 31, 2012 Gilyard was released by the Eagles. On September 11, 2012, he was signed by the Eagles. In six games with the Eagles, his only stats were two punts returned for 15 yards. On November 23, 2012, he was released to make room for

Greg Salas Greg Salas (born August 25, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football for University of Hawaii. College career While at Hawaii, S ...

New York Jets (second stint)

Gilyard was signed to the Jets' active roster on November 28, 2012. The Jets waived Gilyard on December 24, 2012. In two games with the Jets, he caught two passes for 15 yards.

Kansas City Chiefs

Gilyard was signed by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

on February 9, 2013. On July 25, 2013, Gilyard was released by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Montreal Alouettes

On October 3, 2013, Gilyard signed with the Montreal Alouettes.

Jacksonville Sharks

On October 31, 2013, Gilyard was assigned to the

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members of the National Arena Leag ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

Montreal Alouettes (second stint)

During the 2014 season, he caught two passes for 16 yards.

Jacksonville Sharks (second stint)

On June 1, 2016, Gilyard was activated by the Sharks. On June 22, 2016, Gilyard was placed on recallable reassignment.

Monterrey Steel

On February 28, 2017, Gilyard signed with the

Monterrey Steel The Monterrey Steel was a professional indoor football team and a charter member of the National Arena League (NAL) that played in the 2017 season. Based in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, the Steel played their home games at Arena Monterrey. The Stee ...

of the

National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. It consists of teams based on the East Coast of the United States. Teams' typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, while players are paid $ ...

(NAL). On June 21, 2017, Gilyard was released.

Massachusetts Pirates

On December 6, 2017, Gilyard signed with the

Massachusetts Pirates The Massachusetts Pirates are a professional indoor football team of the Indoor Football League based in Worcester, Massachusetts, with home games at the DCU Center. The Pirates began play in the 2018 season as a member of the National Arena Lea ...

of the

(NAL). During the 2018 season, Gilyard recorded 69 receptions, 747 receiving yards, and 19 TDs. Gilyard re-signed with the Pirates for the 2019 season and produced 84 receptions, 950 receiving yards, and 29 TDs. Gilyard was named to the 1st-Team All-NAL for the 2019 season. During the 2021 IFL season, Gilyard appeared in 2 games for the

while making 4 receptions for 41 yards.

Tiburones de Cancún

In 2022, Gilyard signed and played for the

Tiburones de Cancún The Tiburones de Cancún (English: ''Cancún Sharks'') were an American football team based in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The Tiburones competed in Fútbol Americano de México (FAM) for a single season in 2022, finishing with a league-worst 1 ...

Fútbol Americano de México The Mexican American Professional Football League ('', FAM'') was a professional american football minor league in Mexico, founded in 2018. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league was also known as FAM-YOX for the 2022 season. Starting with five ...

(FAM).

Coaching

In 2019, Gilyard joined the football coaching staff at

Dudley, Massachusetts Dudley is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,921 at the 2020 census. History Dudley was first settled in 1714 and was officially incorporated in 1732. The town was named for landholders Paul and Will ...

. He will serve as Defensive Backs coach for the Bison, whom are an

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

program in the

Commonwealth Coast Conference The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III. Member institutions are located in New England in the states of Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, with a Connecticu ...

References

External links

*
Montreal Alouettes bio

Philadelphia Eagles bioNichols State Bison bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilyard, Mardy 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Daytona Beach, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers American players of Canadian football Cincinnati Bearcats football players St. Louis Rams players New York Jets players Philadelphia Eagles players Kansas City Chiefs players Jacksonville Sharks players Monterrey Steel players Montreal Alouettes players Massachusetts Pirates players American expatriate players of American football American expatriate sportspeople in Mexico