Justin DuJian Tuggle (born January 4, 1990) is an American former

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He played college football at

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

. Tuggle is the son of former five-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

linebacker

Jessie Tuggle Jessie Floyd Tuggle, III (born April 4, 1965) is a former professional American football linebacker who played for the Atlanta Falcons his entire career from 1987 to 2000. He graduated from Valdosta State College in Valdosta, Georgia. He appea ...

. He is also the brother of Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett.

Early years

Tuggle attended Northview High School in the state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He earned the Greater Atlanta All-Area honors in his senior season. He participated in the second annual Offense-Defense All-American Bowl and was the quarterback on the east team. He was selected to the 2007 All-North Fulton County team and was on the second-team offense as a quarterback.

College career

Tuggle played his freshman season at Boston College where he played quarterback. In his sophomore season, he transferred to

Blinn College Blinn College is a public junior college in Brenham, Texas, with additional campuses in Bryan, Schulenburg, and Sealy. Brenham is Blinn's main campus, with dormitories and apartments. History Blinn was established as Mission Institute in 188 ...

for the spring semester. After spending his sophomore season at

, he transferred to

. He switched positions from quarterback to linebacker for his junior season and first season at

Professional career

Houston Texans

On April 27, 2013, he signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent. in 42 games over 3 seasons, Tuggle produced 71 tackles, forced one fumble, and intercepted an

Andrew Luck Andrew Austen Luck (born September 12, 1989) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. One of the most highly touted amateur prospects during hi ...

pass which he returned for 8 yards.

Cleveland Browns

On March 11, 2016, Tuggle signed with 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 ...

. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Browns.

Toronto Argonauts

On May 23, 2017, Tuggle signed with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

. During his first year in the CFL, Tuggle recorded three sacks, a defensive touchdown, a forced fumble, and an interception, as well as being part of the

105th Grey Cup The 105th Grey Cup was played on November 26, 2017, between the Calgary Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. In a re-match of the 100th Grey Cup, the Argonauts won the game 27–24, winning their 17th cham ...

championship team. The following season, Tuggle played in 17 games. Due to injuries to the struggling Argos, Tuggle was a starter at three different positions during the 2018 season, playing at middle linebacker, weakside linebacker, and along the defensive line. Tuggle put up a career high 36 tackles, along with three more sacks and two more forced fumbles.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Toronto's rival, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, signed Tuggle as a free agent in February 2019. He played in 18 regular season games where he had 80 defensive tackles, one special teams tackle, one quarterback sack, and one interception. He also played in both post-season games, including the

107th Grey Cup The 107th Grey Cup decided the champion of the 2019 season in the Canadian Football League (CFL). The match was played on November 24, 2019, between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta. Wi ...

where he had four defensive tackles in the loss to the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

Edmonton Football Team

Upon entering free agency, Tuggle signed with the

Edmonton Football Team The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

on February 11, 2020. However, he did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the ...

and he became a free agent again on February 9, 2021.

Toronto Argonauts (II)

On October 1, 2021, it was announced that Tuggle had signed with the

Personal life

His father is

who played 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 Atlanta Falcons from 1987–2000. He also was selected to five

s and three

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

teams during his career. His brother, Grady Jarrett, was drafted in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

for the Atlanta Falcons. Tuggle has also released three single albums and one album consisting of 14 songs (including all three singles) titled ''Life on Beats by YGP ''(Tuggle's teammate Terrance Plummer)'' & take1''.

References

External links

* Toronto Argonauts biobr>Houston Texans bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuggle, Justin 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Alpharetta, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football quarterbacks American football outside linebackers Canadian football defensive linemen Boston College Eagles football players Blinn Buccaneers football players Kansas State Wildcats football players Houston Texans players Cleveland Browns players Toronto Argonauts players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players 21st-century African-American sportspeople