Gosder Cherilus (; born June 28, 1984) 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 wi ...

offensive tackle 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 ...

(NFL). He played college football at Boston College, and was drafted by the Detroit Lions 17th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. Cherilus also played for the Indianapolis Colts and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

Early years

Cherilus played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Somerville High School in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area o ...

. Playing for Somerville head coaches Tony Gulla and Francis McCarthy, Cherilus earned All-State honors.

College career

2003 season

Cherilus redshirted for the Eagles.

2004 season

Cherilus was the only redshirt freshman to start for the Eagles. He helped the Eagles to average 385.4 yards per game in total offense.

2005 season

He started all 12 contests at right tackle during 2005 season. He worked well with right guard Josh Beekman, as the pair helped the Eagles record 387.75 total yards per game.

2006 season

In 2006, Cherilus started in all 13 games at right tackle and paved the way for seven 100-yard rushing games and a collective 1,424 rushing yards by L. V. Whitworth and Andre Callender. He helped the team average 114.5 yards per game on the ground and 355.6 yards in total offense. He played at the 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl win over

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

2007 season

He was named all-ACC second-team selection and recipient of the team’s Unsung Hero Award, Cherilus started 14 games at left tackle, helping BC rank seventh in the nation with an average of 323.9 yards per game passing, he registered 77 knockdowns with twelve touchdown-resulting blocks, finishing with a 78.0 percent grade for blocking consistency and also helped hold opponents to only 61 tackles-for-loss (fifth in the nation) and 22 sacks. He served as team captain, along with Nick Larkin, Jo-Lonn Dunbar and Matt Ryan, who was also selected in the first round; third overall to Atlanta Falcons of the 2008 NFL Draft. He was part of an offensive line that helped support Ryan in his record-setting season including a career-high five touchdown passes against Wake Forest and pave the way for the Eagles 5,924 yards in total offense. He started in the victory over

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

in the 2007 Champs Sports Bowl and in the

2007 ACC Championship Game The 2007 Dr. Pepper ACC Championship Game featured the 2007 Boston College Eagles football team, Boston College Eagles and the 2007 Virginia Tech Hokies football team, Virginia Tech Hokies in a regular-season college football game that determine ...

loss to

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

. Cherilus started a school-record 51 straight games.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

The Lions drafted Cherilus in the first round with the 17th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. As a rookie, Cherilus became a starter in the offensive line in his third game in the league replacing George Foster, and held that position for most of the 2008 season. As a rookie, he appeared in 16 games and started 13. In the 2009 season, he started all of the regular season games but Week 5. In the 2010 season, he started the first 12 games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. In the 2011 season, he started in all of the regular season games but Week 2. In addition, he started in the Lions' playoff game. In the 2012 season, he started in all 16 regular season games.

Indianapolis Colts

On March 12, 2013, Cherilus signed a five-year, $35 million with the Indianapolis Colts. Upon signing his contract with the Colts, Gosder was the highest paid right tackle in the NFL at that time. He played the right tackle position opposite left tackle

Anthony Castonzo Anthony Salvatore Castonzo (born August 9, 1988) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played his entire 10-year professional career with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). After a college career at Bos ...

. In 2013, he started all 16 games and started in the Colts' two postseason games. In 2014, Cherilus started 13 games, including his 100th career start in week 15. He missed the final two weeks of the regular season due to injury, and was placed on season-ending injured reserve on December 31, which is New Year's Eve. On July 26, 2015, Cherilus was released by the Colts, two years into his five-year contract, having started 29 games.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On August 17, 2015, Cherilus signed a two-year contract with the

. During the 2015 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Gosder played in 13 games assisting the team in winning over five of them. In the 2016 season, Gosder played in 14 games, starting in three. On March 16, 2017, Cherilus announced his retirement from the NFL.

References

External links

Boston College Eagles bioGosder Cherilus Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherilus, Gosder 1984 births Living people American football offensive tackles Boston College Eagles football players Detroit Lions players Indianapolis Colts players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Haitian emigrants to the United States Haitian players of American football Players of American football from Massachusetts Sportspeople from Somerville, Massachusetts