Robert Charles Hughlett (born May 16, 1990) 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 wi ...

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point att ...

for 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 (A ...

of 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). He played college football at UCF.

Early years

Hughlett attended Hillsborough High School in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, where he lettered all four years at tight end and center. He graduated in the Class of 2008. As a junior, he was named second-team All-conference. As a senior, he received first-team All-conference honors. During his high school career, the Terriers earned regional champion honors in 2004 as well as district titles in 2005 and 2006. Hughlett also earned varsity letters in track and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. He was also selected for the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award.

College career

In 2008, he accepted a football scholarship from the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

. He also was recruited by

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one of six senior military colleges in the United States. ...

, South Florida, Holy Cross, and

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

. He played long snapper all four years. As a freshman, he earned Conference USA All-Freshman Team honors as a long snapper, after appearing in 12 games, including 3 tackles on special teams. As a sophomore, he played in all 13 of the Knights games. As a junior, Hughlett appeared in all 14 of the Knights games en route to earning All-Conference USA second-team honors. As a senior, he played in all 12 games and again earned All-Conference USA second-team honors.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Hughlett was signed 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 ...

by 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 divi ...

after the 2012 NFL Draft on April 30. On August 27, 2012, he was waived after not being able to pass stalwart starter L.P. Ladouceur on the depth chart. On January 7, 2013, he was re-signed. On May 29, 2013, he was released.

2014 season

On March 19, 2014, he 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 New England Patriots. On May 15, 2014, he was released. On June 19, 2014, he was signed 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 pla ...

. On August 24, 2014, he was released. On September 1, 2014, he was signed to the Patriots' practice squad, only to be released two days later. On September 30, 2014, he was signed to the

' practice squad, but was cut a week later. On November 26, 2014, he was re-signed to the Patriots' practice squad and was released two days later. On December 16, 2014, he was signed to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

' practice squad.

Cleveland Browns (second stint)

On December 24, 2014, Hughlett was signed to the Browns active roster off the Chiefs' practice squad, to compete with starter Christian Yount. In 2015, he passed Yount on the depth chart. He played in all 16 games and handling all long-snapping duties. On February 16, 2017, Hughlett signed a six-year contract extension with the Browns, which at the time made him the league's highest-paid long snapper. On October 3, 2021, he played in his 100th consecutive game with the Browns, becoming only the third player ( Joe Thomas and

Phil Dawson Philip Drury Dawson (born January 23, 1975) is a former American football placekicker. He played for the Cleveland Browns from 1999 to 2012 and holds their franchise record for most field goals made, passing Hall of Famer Lou Groza in 2010. He pl ...

) to accomplish this feat since the franchise returned to the NFL in 1999. On October 28, 2022, Hughlett signed a four-year contract extension with the Browns.

References

External links

Cleveland Browns bioUCF Knights bioNFL career transactions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughlett, Charley Living people 1990 births American football long snappers Dallas Cowboys players New England Patriots players Jacksonville Jaguars players Cleveland Browns players Kansas City Chiefs players UCF Knights football players Players of American football from Tampa, Florida