Shaun Chapas (born May 2, 1988) 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 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 ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and

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 ...

. 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 the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Early years

Chapas attended

Bolles School The Bolles School is an American private college preparatory day and boarding school in Jacksonville, Florida. It has a lower school (including pre-kindergarten), a middle school, and a high school, spread across four campuses around the Jackson ...

, where he was named the starter at fullback as a freshman. As a junior, he had 9 rushing touchdowns on 38 carries and 2 receiving touchdowns on 9 catches, while helping his team win the Class AA state title. As a senior, he missed the entire season after tearing his ACL. He was still rated the eighth-best fullback in the nation and fifth on the Florida Top-100 Rivals.com team.

College career

Chapas accepted a football scholarship from the

, where he was

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 ...

to recover from his previous injury. After being named the most improved

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

at the conclusion of spring drills in 2007, he appeared in all 13 games with 11 carries for 41 yards and three catches for 22 yards while also playing an important role on special teams and making 12 tackles. The Dawgs concluded the 2007 season with a New Years Day Sugar Bowl Victory over the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa (University of Hawaii—Mānoa, UH Mānoa, Hawai'i, or simply UH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Manoa, Mānoa, a neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. It ...

. As a sophomore in 2008, Chapas appeared in all 13 games (6 starts) for the preseason #1 ranked team in the country, while also playing

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 ...

. He caught nine passes for 120 yards, scored his first career touchdown and made 2 special teams tackles. He was named CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III First-team, earned SEC Academic Honor Roll, Director's Honor Roll distinction for the fall semester, and was named CBS Scholar Athlete of the game versus LSU. As a junior in 2009, he appeared in 12 games (7 starts). He was tabbed by ''

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'' as the "SEC's Best Blocking Back." In addition to his lead blocking, he had seven carries for 45 yards, one rushing touchdown, nine receptions for 50 yards, one receiving touchdownand 4 special teams tackles. As a senior in 2010, Chapas was selected as the team's overall permanent captain. He appeared in 11 games (9 starts), posting 15 carries for 44 yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, 5 receptions for 29 yards, 2 receiving touchdowns and one special teams tackle. At the team's annual awards Gala, he earned the team's Coaches Leadership Award for Special Teams, the Leon Farmer Award for dedication to the strength and conditioning program and the David Jacobs Award as the player who by example portrays courage, spirit, character and determination. He missed the 2010 Liberty Bowl after having ankle surgery.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Chapas was selected by the

in the seventh round (220th overall) of the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

. He was waived on September 3 and was signed to the

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, ...

on September 5. On November 29, he was promoted to the active roster after an injury to fullback

Tony Fiammetta Placido Anthony Fiammetta (born August 22, 1986) is a former American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and Chicago Bears. He was drafted by the Carolina Pan ...

, making his first professional start against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. He was released on August 31,

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Detroit Lions

On September 2,

, the

signed him to their

. On December 14, he was promoted to the regular roster and appeared in the final five games of the season, playing in 3 games (one start). On August 31,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, he was waived and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on October 16, to make room for wide receiver

Patrick Edwards Patrick Michael Edwards (born October 25, 1988) is a former wide receiver in American football. Early years Edwards was born in Temple, Texas, to Patrick Dixon and Patricia Edwards. He was raised in Hearne, Texas, where he attended Hearne High ...

Jacksonville Jaguars

On November 26,

, he was signed to 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 ...

. He was released on May 12,

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Baltimore Ravens

On May 19,

, Chapas signed 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 is a ...

with the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. On August 25, he was waived with an injury settlement, after injuring both of his shoulders during training camp.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapas, Shaun 1988 births Living people People from St. Augustine, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football fullbacks Georgia Bulldogs football players Dallas Cowboys players Detroit Lions players Jacksonville Jaguars players Bolles School alumni