Michael Gasperson (born June 10, 1982) 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 wi ...

wide receiver 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 majo ...

. He played 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 play ...

for one season in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

. He was signed by the Eagles 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 i ...

in 2005. 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

Early years

Gasperson was a four-sport letterman at

Palma High School Palma School is a grade 6-12 Catholic boys school located in Salinas, California, United States. Located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey, its motto is "Palma Merenti," which translates in English as "Palms to the Victor." History Palm ...

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish for "Salt Marsh or Salt Flats") is a city in California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area l ...

and earned the school's Outstanding Senior Athlete award in his senior year. In addition to playing baseball, basketball and soccer as a kid, he was also a competitive swimmer.

College career

Gasperson played

at the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Sch ...

under former

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...

head coach

Jim Harbaugh James Joseph Harbaugh (; born December 23, 1963) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current and 20th head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines. He played college football at Michigan from 1983 to 1986. He play ...

. In 2002, Gasperson received first-team All-Pioneer Football League honors after hauling in a team-high 57 receptions for 907 yards and 10 touchdowns. During a 2002 regular season game against Valparaiso Gasperson set a school and conference record with five

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s. Over three seasons, Gasperson accounted for 116 receptions, 1,894 yards, and 17 touchdowns. He was named to the Sports Network's I-AA Mid-Major All-America Team in 2004. He also earned team MVP honors.

Professional career

After being undrafted in the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also he ...

, Gasperson was signed by the

as a

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 i ...

. A big-bodied receiver, Gasperson spent the majority of the 2005 season on the Eagles'

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

before being allocated to play for the Cologne Centurions in

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally ...

that following spring. After spending time playing for Cologne, Gasperson returned to the United States to continue his involvement with the Eagles during the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

and 2007 seasons. On December 19, 2007, Gasperson was promoted to the Eagles' active roster. This came after injuries were suffered by

Matt Schobel Matthew Thomas Schobel (; born November 4, 1978) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas Christian University (TCU). Schob ...

and

L. J. Smith John Smith III (born May 13, 1980), commonly known as L. J., which stands for "Little John", is a former American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2003 ...

. Gasperson's regular season NFL debut came against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in week 16; the Eagles defeated the

38–23. Gasperson recorded one incomplete pass after dropping a ball thrown to him in the flat by

Donovan McNabb Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. Before his NFL career, he played football and ...

in the game. Later in the game Gasperson caught, and downed, a punt for the Eagles. On January 2, 2008, Gasperson was re-signed to a three-year contract with the Eagles. He was released during final cuts on August 30, 2008, after he used up his remaining practice squad eligibility the previous season. He had a workout with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

on September 9, 2008.

References

External links

Philadelphia Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gasperson, Michael 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Monterey, California American football wide receivers San Diego Toreros football players Philadelphia Eagles players Cologne Centurions (NFL Europe) players Players of American football from Salinas, California