Montell Ernest Owens (born May 4, 1984) 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 ...

fullback. 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 ...

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 ...

. Owens was signed by 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 ...

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 2006. He has also played for the

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

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

Early years

Owens attended Concord High School in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, and was a letterman in football, baseball, and track. As a student, he was a member of the National Honor Society and toured Europe with American Music Abroad. In football, Owens rushed for 1,100 yards and 20 touchdowns. Owens graduated from Concord High School in 2002.

College career

Owens attended the University of Maine, where he was a four-year letterman who played in 38 games at tailback for the

Maine Black Bears football : ''For information on all University of Maine sports, see Maine Black Bears.'' The Maine Black Bears football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Maine located in the U.S. state of Maine. The team compete ...

team. In 2005, he established career highs with 184 carries for 779 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior. As a junior in 2004, he played in nine games and had 49 carries for 187 yards and two touchdowns. He played in nine games as a sophomore rushed for 32 yards on 15 carries. Owens majored in kinesiology and biology and minored in jazz performance.

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

After going undrafted in the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

, Owens signed with the

on April 30, 2006. In 2009, he tied the single-season franchise record with 30 special teams tackles. Owens was selected as a first alternate for the 2010 Pro Bowl. He was selected to the

2011 Pro Bowl The 2011 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2010 season. It took place at 7:00 p.m. EST (2:00 p.m. local time) on Sunday, January 30, 2011 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The NFC won 55–41, despi ...

as a special teams player. In the Pro Bowl game, Owens recovered a fumble by

Devin Hester Devin Devorris Hester Sr. (born November 4, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely regarded as the greatest return specialist i ...

on a kickoff and returned it for a touchdown. In the same game he caught a pass for a touchdown from

Matt Cassel Matthew Brennan Cassel (born May 17, 1982) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. A member of seven NFL teams, Cassel's most notable stints were with the New England Patriots an ...

. He replaced New England's

Matthew Slater Matthew Wilson Slater (born September 9, 1985) is an American football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCLA, where he received first-team All-Pac-10 honors, and was ...

as the special teams player on the AFC roster for the

2012 Pro Bowl The 2012 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2011 season. It took place at 2:00 pm local time on Sunday, January 29, 2012, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The AFC defeated the NFC, 59–41. The 59 point ...

. He was released on May 16, 2013. Owens was attributed with the nickname of "Mowens" during his time with the Jaguars, the result of a group of die-hard fans contracting the name listed on his jersey "M. OWENS".

Detroit Lions

Owens was signed by the

on May 30, 2013. On October 31, 2013, he was activated off short-term

injured reserve 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 ...

. Owens was placed on injured reserve on September 30, 2014.

Chicago Bears

On December 11, 2014, Owens was signed by the

Jaguars franchise records

* Most special teams tackles: 118 * Most special teams tackles in single season: 30 (2009)

References

External links

Chicago Bears bio

Detroit Lions bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Montell 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Wilmington, Delaware American football fullbacks American trumpeters American male trumpeters Maine Black Bears football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Detroit Lions players Chicago Bears players 21st-century trumpeters 21st-century American male musicians American Conference Pro Bowl players