Derek Rackley is a 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...

 long snapper

Long snapper

In American football and Canadian football, the term long snapper refers to a player who is a specialized center during punts, field goals, and extra point attempts. His job is to snap the ball as quickly and accurately as possible....

/tight end

Tight end

The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...

 who is currently a free agent

Free agent

In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

. Rackley is also currently a football analyst and broadcaster for the Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast nightly television show, SportsNite. Caught only touchdown of his career on December 30, 2001 when the Falcons were playing at the Miami Dolphins.

High school years

Derek Rackley attended Apple Valley High School

Apple Valley High School (Minnesota)

Apple Valley High School, commonly referred to as AVHS, is a public four-year high school in Apple Valley, Minnesota. It is a part of Independent School District 196 . It is also affiliated with the Minnesota State High School League...

 in Apple Valley, Minnesota

Apple Valley, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 45,527 people, 16,344 households, and 12,405 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,625.5 people per square mile . There were 16,536 housing units at an average density of 953.6 per square mile...

. As a senior, he was an All-State Honorable Mention honoree and an Academic All-State honoree. He graduated in 1995 from Apple Valley High School with honors.

College career

Rackley attended the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

and was a four-year letterman in football. He saw action at tight end, in addition to handling longsnapping duties for four years. Was working for General Mills in Minnesota before he began his pro career.