Nicklaus O'Leary (born August 31, 1992) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

, earning consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 2014. He was selected by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in the sixth round of the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

Early life

Nicklaus O'Leary is one of five children of Bill and Nan (Nicklaus) O'Leary. He attended Dwyer High School in

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Palm Beach Gardens is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, approximately 80 miles north of Miami. Palm Beach Gardens is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 59,182 at the ...

, where he played

and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

. He won state titles in both football and lacrosse. As a senior, he had 51 receptions for 875 yards and 12

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was listed as the top-ranked tight end recruit in his class.

College career

As a true freshman in 2011, O'Leary played in all 13 games with two starts. He finished the season with 12 receptions for 164 yards and one touchdown. As a sophomore in 2012, he started 11 of 13 games, recording 21 receptions for 252 yards and three touchdowns. As a junior in 2013, he was a John Mackey Award finalist after recording 33 receptions for 557 yards with seven touchdowns. After considering entering the 2014 NFL draft, O'Leary returned to Florida State for his senior season. During his senior season, he set Florida State's record for career receptions for a tight end. He again was a finalist for the John Mackey Award, this time winning it. He was also named a consensus

. O'Leary finished the season with 48 receptions for 618 yards and six touchdowns. For his career, O'Leary had 114 receptions for 1,591 yards and 17 touchdowns.

College statistics

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

O'Leary was drafted by the

in the sixth round (194th overall) of the

. On September 8, 2015, the Bills cut O'Leary and re-signed him to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

two days later. On December 8, 2015, he was promoted to the active roster after Matthew Mulligan was cut. On November 12, 2017, in a 47–10 loss to 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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, he caught his first career touchdown, a seven-yard pass from quarterback Nathan Peterman. On September 1, 2018, O'Leary was released by the Bills.

Miami Dolphins

On September 20, 2018, O'Leary was signed to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 5, 2018. He scored his first touchdown with the Dolphins in Week 6 against the Bears on a five-yard pass from Brock Osweiler. On December 1, 2018, O'Leary signed a one-year contract extension with the Dolphins through the 2019 season. On October 29, 2019, O’Leary was released by the Dolphins.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On November 18, 2019, O'Leary 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Las Vegas Raiders

On April 6, 2020, O'Leary was signed by the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

. He was placed on the reserve/ non-football injury list on May 28, 2020. On June 23, 2020, it was revealed that O'Leary underwent a heart procedure because there was a 100% blockage in one artery adjacent with the heart. Some sources surfaced that O'Leary was retiring from football, but O'Leary still intended to play in 2021, regardless of his recent procedure.

Coaching career

In 2023, O'Leary joined Florida State as a student assistant coach, working with the offense.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

O'Leary's maternal grandfather is golfing legend

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

. Nick's father, Bill, was a highly recruited tight end who played at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

, and his mother, Nan, played volleyball at Georgia.

References

External links

Florida State Seminoles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:OLeary, Nick 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from North Palm Beach, Florida Players of American football from Palm Beach County, Florida American football tight ends Florida State Seminoles football players All-American college football players Buffalo Bills players Miami Dolphins players Jacksonville Jaguars players Las Vegas Raiders players Florida State Seminoles football coaches