Nicholas David Speegle (born November 29, 1981) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He played 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 ...

(NFL) with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

from 2005 to 2006. Speegle 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 the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

High school career

Speegle attended

La Cueva High School La Cueva High School is a public high school located in northeast Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, within the Albuquerque Public Schools District. Its mascot is the Bears. The La Cueva feeder schools include Desert Ridge Middle School, Des ...

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

and was a good student and a letterman in both football and track and field. As a senior, he was a first-team All-State defensive end and a second-team state tight end in football. In track and field, he won state and set school records in the 110-meter hurdles.

College career

Speegle was a four-year starter at outside linebacker. He was a consistent defensive force after working his way into the starting lineup as a redshirt freshman. He was the 2004 team captain...never flashy but was a quiet playmaker throughout his career and the veteran leader of the Lobo defense in 2004. He was an incredibly tough player who never missed a game, battling through a number of painful injuries over the years. Fellow New Mexico linebackers described him as an old-school, classic type of LB in the mold of NFL Hall of Famers Ray Nitchke, Jack Lambert and Dick Butkus. Speegle was two-time Honorable-Mention All MWC selection before breaking through with First Team Honors his final season. He was named Third-team Freshman All-American by The Sporting News in 2001. He finished his career ranked No. 14 at UNM with 317 career tackles for loss and made 43 starts (including 42 straight to close his career). He was the total package of size, speed, strength, and attitude. He had good instincts and was an incredibly sure tackler. He added over 30 pounds after entering New Mexico at 207. He graduated in May 2004, with a degree in General Management and a 3.97 cumulative GPA. He played his senior year as a graduate student, pursuing his master's degree in Sports Administration. He was a two-time First-team Academic All-District selection, two-time MWC Scholar-Athlete Award winner, an Academic All-MWC Honoree all four years, and was awarded for his community service by being named to the 2004 American Football Coaches Association National Good Works Team. (clevelandbrowns.com, 2005)

NFL career

NFL Combine

* Height: 6 feet, 6 inches * Weight: 242 pounds * Bench press: 390 pounds * Squat: 465 pounds

Cleveland Browns

Speegle was drafted by the

in the sixth round of 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 ...

as the 176th pick overall. He played two seasons as a linebacker and on

special teams 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 ...

with the Browns and

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

before suffering a career ending back injury.

References

External links

New Mexico profile
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Living people 1981 births American football linebackers Cleveland Browns players New Mexico Lobos football players Players of American football from Albuquerque, New Mexico La Cueva High School alumni {{linebacker-1980s-stub