Zach Laskey (born July 8, 1992) 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 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 ...
.
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
Georgia Tech.
Professional career
Coming out of Georgia Tech, Laskey was ranked a top 10 fullback prospect, but was unfortunately not one of three fullbacks to receive an invitation to attend the
NFL Scouting Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...
in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
. On March 13, 2015, Laskey attended Georgia Tech's pro day, along with
Shaq Mason
Shaquille Olajuwon Mason (born August 28, 1993) is an American football offensive guard for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). Mason played college football at Georgia Tech from 2011 to 2014 and was drafted by the New Eng ...
,
Darren Waller
Darren Charles Waller (born September 13, 1992) is an American football tight end for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia Tech. He is the great-grandson of composer and jazz pianist ...
,
DeAndre Smelter
DeAndre Tremaine Smelter (born December 3, 1991) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Georgia Tech.
College career
Smelter originally was drafted by the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball in 2010, bu ...
, and three other prospects. He performed all of the combine and positional drills for team representatives and scouts from 31 NFL teams. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Laskey was projected to be a seventh round pick or be signed as an undrafted free agent. He was ranked the eighth best fullback prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.
On May 2, 2015, the
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arri ...
signed Laskey to a three-year, $1.57 million contract 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 ...
after he went unselected in the
2015 NFL Draft
The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...
. The contract also includes a
signing bonus
A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...
of $3,000.
During the draft, the
Tennessee Titans called Laskey and stated they weren't going to be able to draft him, but were looking to sign him immediately after the draft was complete. The Los Angeles Rams called immediately after and Laskey chose to sign with the Rams after speaking with their running backs coach Ben Sirmans. Laskey was the first true fullback the Rams have had since
Mike Karney in 2010. Throughout training camp, he competed for a roster spot with tight ends
Lance Kendricks
Lance Ronnie Kendricks (born January 30, 1988) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Wisconsin, where he was recognized as a consensus All-American. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the second round of t ...
and
Cory Harkey
Cory Nicholas Harkey (born June 17, 1990) is a former American football tight end and coach who is the assistant special teams coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafte ...
.
He was released by the Rams on September 5, 2015, and was signed to the practice squad the next day.
On August 30, 2016, Laskey was waived/injured by the Rams and placed on injured reserve.
On August 4, 2017, Laskey was again waived/injured by the Rams and placed on injured reserve.
References
1992 births
Living people
American football fullbacks
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players
St. Louis Rams players
Los Angeles Rams players
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