Raymond Vohasek (born March 8, 1999) is an

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 ...

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

who is a free agent. 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 DuPage and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Early years

Vohasek grew up in

McHenry, Illinois McHenry is a city in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb, part of the Chicago metropolitan area and is located about 37 miles northwest of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 27,135. McHenry was at one time th ...

. He attended

McHenry East High School McHenry East High School was a 4-year public high school in McHenry, Illinois, United States, which served 9th-12th grade students until the 2021–2022 school year. Since then, the building is being used to serve only 9th grade students and was r ...

and played six different positions, including offensively

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

, and

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

, while on defense

nose guard A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

middle 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, ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. Although a top player at McHenry East, Vohasek received no Division I offers and committed to play

for the College of DuPage Chaparrals.

College career

At the College of DuPage in 2017, Vohasek posted a team-leading 8.5 sacks and additionally tallied 33

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...

, 14 of which were for a loss. He posted these numbers despite having played through a torn labrum the entire season. He did not play and

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 ...

the 2018 season to allow his shoulder to heal. Vohasek was ranked by

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite b ...

a three-star junior college recruit and the best player in the state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He transferred to play for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

in 2019. In his first season with the Tar Heels, Vohasek made 12 appearances and totaled 15 tackles, one sack and 5.0 tackles-for-loss. The following year, he started all 11 games and posted 29 tackles, placed third on the team with 7.0 tackles-for-loss, and recorded two

pass breakups In American football, a pass deflected, also known as a pass deflection, a pass defended, a pass , a pass knockdown, or a pass breakup, is an incomplete pass that is caused by a defensive player. This is done by slapping or blocking the ball with ...

with four quarterback hurries, earning honorable mention all-conference honors. Vohasek again earned honorable mention all-conference honors in 2021, after making 38 tackles, 4.0 for-loss, one sack, three pass breakups and four hurries. He started the first five games of the 2022 season, collecting 14 tackles and one tackles-for-loss, before suffering a season-ending injury. Vohasek finished his stint at North Carolina with 41 games played, including 29 as a starter, 96 tackles, 17 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks.

Professional career

Vohasek was selected 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 ...

in the seventh round (227th overall) of the

2023 NFL Draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

. He was waived on August 29, 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vohasek, Raymond 1999 births Living people People from McHenry, Illinois Players of American football from McHenry County, Illinois American football defensive tackles College of DuPage Chaparrals football players North Carolina Tar Heels football players Jacksonville Jaguars draft picks Jacksonville Jaguars players