Michael Gasperson (born June 10, 1982) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He played for the Philadelphia Eagles for one season in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. He was signed by the Eagles as an undrafted free agent 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 rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at San Diego.

Early years

Gasperson was a four-sport letterman at Palma High School in

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 lo ...

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 Schoo ...

under former San Francisco 49ers 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 touchdowns. 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 NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...

, Gasperson was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent. 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 f ...

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 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

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). Schobel ...

and L. J. Smith. Gasperson's regular season NFL debut came against the New Orleans Saints in week 16; the Eagles defeated the New Orleans Saints 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 b ...

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 as ...

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