Jeff Dugan
Encyclopedia
Jeffery Stephen Dugan 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...

 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...

/fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...

 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....

.

Jeff Dugan attended Central Catholic High School
Central Catholic High School (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Central Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic college preparatory school for boys in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a part of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and is administrated and partially staffed by the Brothers of the Christian Schools....

, where NFL quarterbacks Dan Marino
Dan Marino
Daniel Constantine "Dan" Marino, Jr. is a retired American football quarterback who played for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League...

 and Marc Bulger
Marc Bulger
Marc Robert Bulger [] is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at West Virginia....

 attended.

College career

Dugan attended the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...

, and finished his career with 55 receptions for 649 yards (11.8 yards per rec. avg.), and three touchdowns. As a true freshman, he was named the team's freshman of the year and was a Freshman All-American third team selection by the Sports Page. After the first game of the year, he took over the starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...

 job. He was second on the team in receptions, with 25. In his sophomore year, he started 10 games and was used primarily as a blocker, but had 7 receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown. In his junior year, he started every game and caught 9 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown and was named ACC
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...

 honorable mention. In his senior year in 2003, he caught 14 passes for 175 yards and was named to the All-ACC second team.

NFL career

Dugan was selected by the Vikings in the 7th round.

In 2004, Dugan's rookie season, he played in 14 of 16 regular season games, made two starts, and played in two playoff games. Dugan played in the third most games, for Viking rookies that season. Jeff had a career high three tackles on special teams in a game against Green Bay on November 14, notched a special teams tackle versus Detroit, and made his first career start on Monday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles on September 20. Jeff's 2005 season consisted of only one game against the Atlanta Falcons on October 2. He was then listed as inactive for 15 regular season games. Dugan made his first career playoff start versus Green Bay, on January 9, 2005.

In 2006, Dugan made his transition from tight end to full back, when Tony Richardson had a season ending injury. Dugan handled the transition admirably, and assisted Chester Taylor, as he ran for 1,214 yards, which became the fourth highest in Vikings history. Dugan also helped a pair of running backs rush for 100+ yards in the final seven games of the season. Dugan contributed on special teams as well.

Dugan has proven himself to be very beneficial for the Vikings. Along with his receiving skills, Dugan also has the ability to line up in the back field as a full back. He was a key contributor to Chester Taylor's success last season with his blocking skills, and can also play on special teams.

On September 3 2011, Dugan was waived by the Minnesota Vikings to make room for the 53 man roster.

Personal

Dugan is married and has a daughter. He has been spending his off-season pursuing his MBA at Northwestern
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

's Kellogg School of Management
Kellogg School of Management
The Kellogg School of Management is the business school of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, downtown Chicago, Illinois and Miami, Florida. Kellogg offers full-time, part-time, and executive programs, as well as partnering programs with schools in China, India, Hong Kong, Israel,...

.
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