Chris Cooley

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Chris Cooley
Washington Redskins — No. 47
Tight end
Date of birth: July 11, 1982 (1982-07-11) (age 25)
Place of birth: Powell, Wyoming
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Weight: 249 lb (113 kg)
National Football League debut
2004 for the Washington Redskins
Career history
College: Utah State
NFL Draft: 2004 / Round: 3 / Pick: 81
 Teams:
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NFL.com

Chris Cooley (born July 11, 1982 in Powell, Wyoming) is an American football tight end for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Redskins in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Utah State.

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[edit] Early years

Cooley attended Logan High School in Logan, Utah, and lettered in football, wrestling, and baseball. As a senior football tight end, he caught 45 passes for 625 yards (13.34 yards per rec. avg.) and on defense, added eight sacks and numerous tackles. In wrestling, he posted a 54-0 record his senior season and won the state championship and All-America honors.

[edit] College career

Cooley finished his college football career at Utah State University with 95 receptions for 1,255 yards (13.2 yards per rec. avg.). He was part of a talented receiving corps with teammate Kevin Curtis who currently plays in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles.

In 2003, his senior season at Utah State, Cooley led the NCAA in receptions by a tight end.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] 2004

In 2004, Cooley was drafted with the 81st pick in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. After being used sparingly in the first half of the 2004 season, Cooley began to be used more extensively in the last eight games, developing a rapport with Redskins quarterback Patrick Ramsey. In his first NFL season, Cooley led the team in touchdowns (with six), while recording 37 receptions for 314 yards, catching three passes of more than twenty yards, and getting 23 first downs. He finished the season with an average of 8.5 yards per catch. He was the Redskins' nominee for the NFL Man of the Year award for his work reading to children and feeding the poor. He is also known by the nickname "Johnny White Guy", which was given to him by Clinton Portis during one of Portis' colorful press conferences.

[edit] 2005

Cooley blossomed as a receiver, catching 71 passes for 774 yards and seven touchdowns, including three in a game versus the rival Dallas Cowboys, breaking the Redskins franchise record for receptions as a tight end. [1] Those three touchdowns ended up actually costing Cooley his fantasy playoff game, because his opponent had Cooley on his fantasy team. [2] He led all NFC fullbacks in fan voting for the annual Pro Bowl with 422,314 votes, but following player and coach voting (each group has 1/3 weight), was not chosen for the position.

[edit] 2006

In 2006, Cooley got off to a slow start under the play calling of the Washington Redskins new offensive coordinator, Al Saunders. With only three receptions in the first two weeks, Cooley appeared to not have a place in the new offensive scheme, but in the weeks following became a growing part of the Redskins offense. Cooley ended the season with numbers slightly less than his sophomore outing, but was still one of the top tight ends in the game.

[edit] 2007

In 2007, Cooley had scored in all but one game as of week six. In the sixth week, Cooley had 9 receptions for a career high 105 yards and one touchdown in a 17-14 loss against the Green Bay Packers. On December 18, 2007 Chris Cooley was named to the 2007 Pro Bowl team with Redskins tackle Chris Samuels, long-snapper Ethan Albright, and the late safety Sean Taylor.

[edit] Statistics

Year Team G GS Rec Yds Avg Lg TD FD
2004 Washington Redskins 16 9 37 314 8.5 31 6 23
2005 Washington Redskins 16 16 71 774 10.9 32 8 44
2006 Washington Redskins 16 16 67 734 12.9 66 6 33
2007 Washington Redskins 16 16 66 786 11.9 39 8 39
TOTAL 64 57 231 2,608 11.3 66 28 139

[edit] Personal

Cooley currently lives in Hamilton, Virginia and is engaged to former Redskins cheerleader Christy Oglevee[3]. Cooley and Oglevee were married on May 24, 2008[4]