American football player
O'Leary with the Buffalo Bills in 2015 | |||||||||
No. 84, 83, 86 | |||||||||
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Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | (1992-08-31) August 31, 1992 (age 32) North Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 252 lb (114 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | William T. Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Florida) | ||||||||
College: | Florida State (2011–2014) | ||||||||
NFL draft: | 2015 / round: 6 / pick: 194 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||
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Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Nicklaus O'Leary (born August 31, 1992) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, earning consensus All-American honors in 2014. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL draft.
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, where he played football and lacrosse. He won state titles in both football and lacrosse. As a senior, he had 51 receptions for 875 yards and 12 touchdowns. 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 All-American. 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
Season | Team | GP | Receiving | ||
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Rec | Yds | TD | |||
2011 | Florida State | 13 | 12 | 164 | 1 |
2012 | Florida State | 13 | 21 | 252 | 3 |
2013 | Florida State | 12 | 33 | 557 | 7 |
2014 | Florida State | 13 | 48 | 618 | 6 |
Total | 51 | 114 | 1,591 | 17 |
Professional career
Buffalo Bills
O'Leary was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round (194th overall) of the 2015 NFL draft.
On September 8, 2015, the Bills cut O'Leary and re-signed him to the practice squad 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, 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' 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.
Las Vegas Raiders
On April 6, 2020, O'Leary was signed by the Las Vegas Raiders. 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
Year | Team | Games | Receiving | ||||||||
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GP | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | R/G | Y/G | ||
2015 | BUF | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 37 | 37.0 | 37 | 0 | 0.3 | 9.3 |
2016 | BUF | 16 | 7 | 14 | 9 | 114 | 12.7 | 28 | 0 | 0.6 | 7.1 |
2017 | BUF | 15 | 5 | 32 | 22 | 322 | 14.6 | 32 | 2 | 1.5 | 21.5 |
2018 | MIA | 12 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 86 | 10.8 | 19 | 1 | 0.7 | 10.2 |
2019 | MIA | 7 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 37 | 9.3 | 19 | 0 | 0.6 | 5.3 |
JAX | 5 | 3 | 13 | 9 | 72 | 8.0 | 15 | 1 | 1.8 | 14.4 | |
Career | 59 | 24 | 77 | 53 | 668 | 12.6 | 37 | 4 | 0.8 | 11.3 |
Personal life
O'Leary's maternal grandfather is golfing legend Jack Nicklaus. Nick's father, Bill, was a highly recruited tight end who played at the University of Georgia, and his mother, Nan, played volleyball at Georgia.
References
- ^ "Making his own name: Nick O'Leary _ Jack Nicklaus' grandson _ is the nation's top TE recruit". Fox News. Associated Press. September 2, 2010. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
- "The Nicklaus-Sarasota O'Leary connection | October 19, 2012 | Mark Cardon | HT Golf". Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
- Schad, Joe. "Miami Dolphins promote TE Nick O'Leary of Palm Beach to 53-man roster". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- "Nick O'Leary". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- Jameis Winston, Nick O'Leary among 4 Florida State players who are finalists for national awards
- Florida State tight end Nick O'Leary will return for his senior season, DT Timmy Jernigan going to NFL
- Nick O'Leary, Rashad Greene set Florida State receiving marks
- Shanker, Jared (December 10, 2014). "FSU's Nick O'Leary named top tight end". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- Clark, Corey (December 17, 2014). "Aguayo, O'Leary, Jackson named consensus all-americans". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- "Bills TE Nick O'Leary carving out a role with his bare hands". Bills Wire. September 3, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- "Bills acquire champion bloodlines, draft Nick O'Leary". BuffaloBills.com. May 3, 2015.
- "Bills add TE Nick O'Leary to practice squad". BuffaloBills.com. September 10, 2015. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017.
- Dunne, Tyler (December 8, 2015). "Bills make a TE switch: Matthew Mulligan is out, Nick O'Leary is in". BuffaloNews.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2017.
- "New Orleans Saints at Buffalo Bills - November 12th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
- "Bills make these moves to reach the 53-man roster limit". BuffaloBills.com. September 1, 2018.
- "Dolphins sign former Bills TE Nick O'Leary to its practice squad". Dolphins Wire. USA Today. September 20, 2018.
- "Nick O'Leary Promoted To Active Roster". MiamiDolphins.com. October 5, 2018.
- "Nick O'Leary had a lot of Dolphins firsts Sunday. His famous grandfather saw it all". miamiherald. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- Smith, Michael David (December 1, 2018). "Dolphins extend Nick O'Leary through 2019". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
- "Jaguars sign TE Nick O'Leary". Jaguars.com. November 18, 2019.
- Alper, Josh (March 21, 2020). "Nick O'Leary signs with Raiders". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
- "Raiders re-sign tight end Paul Butler". Raiders.com. May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
- "Nick O'Leary plans return to football in 2021 after undergoing heart procedure last month". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- "Former FSU tight end Nick O'Leary has joined Seminoles coaching staff". Tomahawk Nation. July 24, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- Rohan, Tim (January 6, 2014). "Seminoles Tight End's Competitive Drive Recalls His Grandfather Nicklaus". The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- "FSU's Nick O'Leary hopes to step out of famous grandfather Jack Nicklaus' shadow". Orlando Sentinel. October 20, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- "The Nicklaus-Sarasota O'Leary connection". golf.heraldtribune.com. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
External links
- Career statistics from NFL.com · ESPN · Yahoo Sports
- Florida State Seminoles bio
John Mackey Award winners | |
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2014 College Football All-America Team consensus selections | |
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Offense |
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Defense |
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Special teams |
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Buffalo Bills 2015 NFL draft selections | |
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- 1992 births
- Living people
- People 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