Sheddrick Tobias "Buck" Gurley (born April 7, 1978) is a former American college and professional football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 (NFL) for a single season in 2002. Gurley played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 for the University of Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

 of the NFL.

Early years

Gurley was born in Quincy, Florida

Quincy, Florida

Quincy is a city in Gadsden County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,982 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,975...

 in 1978. He attended Amos P. Godby High School

Amos P. Godby High School

Amos P. Godby High School is a public high school in Tallahassee, Florida, named for Mr. Amos P. Godby, who served as a teacher, coach, Leon County Superintendent, and President and Secretary of the Florida Superintendents Association.-History:Amos P...

 in Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...

, and he played high school football

High school football

High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

 for the Godby Cougars. Gurley was considered one of the nation's top defensive line prospects, and was recognized as a consensus high school All-American, including first-team All-American honors from USA Today

USA Today

USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

, in 1995.

College career

Gurley received an athletic scholarship

Athletic scholarship

An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...

 to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...

, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier

Steve Spurrier

Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American college football coach and player. Spurrier is the current head coach of the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks football team. He is also a former professional player and coach...

's Florida Gators football

Florida Gators football

The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...

 team from 1997 to 2000

2000 Florida Gators football team

September 30, 2000The Florida Gators came into Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi ranked third in the nation. The unranked Mississippi State Bulldogs ran for 351 yards, 172 yards and a touchdown for Dicenzo Miller, and 156 yards and a touchdown for Dontae Walker. Bulldogs quarterback...

. As a redshirt senior in 2000, he was a member of the Gators' 2000 SEC Championship

2000 SEC Championship Game

The 2000 SEC Championship Game was won by the Florida Gators 28-6 over the Auburn Tigers. The game was played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia on December 2, 2000 and was televised to a national audience on ABC.-External links:***-References:...

 team. Gurley graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 in health and human performance in 2001.

Professional career

Gurley was not selected during the 2001 NFL Draft

2001 NFL Draft

The 2001 NFL Draft took place on April 21–22, 2001 at the theater at Madison Square Garden, in New York City. This was the 66th National Football League draft in league history. The draft was broadcast on ESPN both days and eventually moved to ESPN2. No teams elected to claim any players in the...

. He signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in , and played in eight games during the Buccaneers' Super Bowl XXXVII

Super Bowl XXXVII

Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game played on January 26, 2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 2002 regular season...

 championship season.

Life after the NFL

Gurley is currently the head football coach for Lake Mary Preparatory School

Lake Mary Preparatory School

Lake Mary Preparatory School is a private school located in Lake Mary, Florida. It serves grades Pre-K-12 and is co-educational and non-sectarian. The school blends typical core college preparatory curriculum with interdisciplinary teaching styles. It is accredited by the Florida Council of...

 in Lake Mary, Florida

Lake Mary, Florida

Lake Mary is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,456 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 15,230...

.

See also

• Florida Gators
  Florida Gators
  The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
  
  
• Florida Gators football, 1990–1999
• History of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  History of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  -John McKay and early frustration :The Buccaneers joined the NFL as members of the AFC West in 1976. The following year, they were moved to the NFC Central, while the other 1976 expansion team, the Seattle Seahawks, switched conferences with Tampa Bay and joined the AFC West...
  
  
• List of Florida Gators football players
• List of University of Florida alumni