Waylon Glenn Prather (born February 16, 1985) 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 ...

coach and former punter who coached wide receivers 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 ...

s coach at

Cabrillo College Cabrillo College is a public community college in Aptos, California. It is named after the conquistador Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo and opened in 1959. Cabrillo College has an enrollment of about 12,000 students per term. Facilities Classes are of ...

and was the head coach at Harbor High School. He played college football at

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

and was signed by 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 ...

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 is a ...

in 2008. Prather has also been a member of the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

Early life and college

Born in

Felton, California Felton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 4,489 as of 2020 census and according to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land. History Named ...

, Prather graduated from San Lorenzo Valley High School in Felton in 2003. Prather redshirted 2003 and punted for the

San Jose State Spartans football The San Jose State Spartans football team represents San Jose State University, San José State University in NCAA Division I NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, FBS college football as a member of the Mountain West Conference. History ...

team from 2004 to 2007 and was part of the 2006 New Mexico Bowl championship team. He was a

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

Special Teams Player of the Week in 2005 and first-team All-WAC pick in 2006. Prather majored in

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health ...

in San Jose State University and was a

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

student teacher A student teacher or prac teacher (''practice teacher'') is a college, university or graduate student who is teaching under the supervision of a certified teacher in order to qualify for a degree in education. The term is also often used intercha ...

in the spring of 2007 Prather graduated from San Jose State with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in

in May 2008.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

Prather was signed by the Saints as an undrafted free agent on May 5, 2008, but was waived by the team on August 25.

New York Jets

Prather was signed to the Jets' practice squad on September 17, 2008. He was released a week later on September 24.

Arizona Cardinals

Prather was signed to a future contract by 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 ...

on December 30, 2008.

Post-playing career

Prather became a

personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...

with

LA Fitness LA Fitness (doing business as LA Fitness International LLC) is an American gym chain with more than 700 clubs across the United States and Canada. The company was formed in 1984 and is based in Irvine, California. History LA Fitness was founde ...

and lived in

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...

. He then moved to Santa Cruz County and began substitute teaching. In 2012, Prather became wide receivers and

s coach at

, a junior college in Aptos, California. Prather is now a physical education teacher at College Connection Academy in San Jose teaching 7th and 8th graders.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prather, Waylon 1985 births Living people American exercise instructors American football punters Cabrillo Seahawks football coaches San Jose State Spartans football players High school football coaches in California People from Aptos, California People from Felton, California Players of American football from California