Darnell Stapleton

Darnell Stapleton

Darnell Stapleton after practice
No. --     Free Agent
Guard / Center
Personal information
Date of birth: September 21, 1985 (1985-09-21) (age 26)
Place of birth: Union Township, Union County, New Jersey
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Weight: 305 lb (138 kg)
Career information
College: Rutgers
Undrafted in 2007
Debuted in 2008 for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Career history
Pittsburgh Steelers (2007–2009) Florida Tuskers (2010)* New England Patriots (2010)* *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Super Bowl champion (XLIII)
Career NFL statistics as of 2009
Games played	14
Games started	12
Fumbles recovered	0
Stats at NFL.com

Darnell Robert Stapleton (born September 21, 1985 in Union, New Jersey) is an American football offensive lineman who is currently retired due to knee injuries. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Rutgers.

He has also been a member of the Florida Tuskers and New England Patriots.

Early years

Stapleton played football for Union High School. As a senior in 2002, he was a first-team All-Watchung Conference selection, and a first-team all-county selection.

College career

Junior college

Stapleton attended Hudson Valley Community College for two seasons. In 2003, he earned second-team all-league honors. He started 11 games in 2004, and was a first-team All-Northeast Football Conference selection and a preseason NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American.

Rutgers University

Following junior college, Stapleton enrolled at Rutgers University, where he became the team's starting center in spring camps in 2005. He started 12 games on the season. In his senior year, Stapleton started 13 games and was a finalist for the Rimington Trophy, given to the nation's best center. The Rutgers offensive line allowed only eight sacks on the season, the fewest in the nation, while Rutgers running back Ray Rice set a Big East Conference record with 1,794 yards on the season. Stapleton was awarded the David Bender Trophy, given to the team's best offensive lineman.

NFL career

Pittsburgh Steelers

Stapleton was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers following the 2007 NFL Draft. He made the Steelers' 53-man roster in his rookie season but was inactive for every regular season and playoff game. In 2008, Stapleton was a reserve for the first four games of the season, before starting the final 12 games at right guard in place of an injured Kendall Simmons. He also started the team's three playoff games, including the Super Bowl XLIII victory over the Arizona Cardinals. He did not play in the team's first three preseason games in 2009 before being placed on injured reserve on August 31, 2009, with a knee injury. He was not offered a tender by the team as a restricted free agent following the season.

Florida Tuskers

Stapleton signed to play with the United Football League's Florida Tuskers in July 2010.^[1]

New England Patriots

Stapleton signed with the New England Patriots on August 9, 2010. He was waived on August 11.

Coaching career

New York Sharks

As of 2011 Stapleton is the Head Coach for the New York Sharks, a professional women's football team in the Women's Football Alliance. The New York Sharks are the longest running and winningest team in women's football history with 3 conference titles (2002, 2003, 2004 IWFL East), 6 division titles (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 IWFL) and 1 championship title (2002 IWFL).

References

1. ^ Wilson, Aaron (July 15, 2010). "Florida Tuskers Acquire Darnell Stapleton's Rights". National Football Post. http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Florida-Tuskers-acquire-Darnell-Stapletons-rights.html. Retrieved August 2, 2010. 

External links

• Pittsburgh Steelers bio
• Official website
• [1]

Persondata
Name	Stapleton, Darnell
Alternative names
Short description	American football player
Date of birth	September 21, 1985
Place of birth	Union, New Jersey
Date of death
Place of death