Derek Winfield Cassidy (born December 2, 1986) is a former American football quarterback who played three seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) for the New Orleans VooDoo and Pittsburgh Power. He played college football at for Rhode Island. He was also a member of the Columbus Lions of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL).
 Cassidy with the Pittsburgh Power in 2013 | |||||||||||||
| No. 13 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | December 2, 1986 Winter Haven, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Eagle Lake (FL) Lake Region | ||||||||||||
| College: | Rhode Island | ||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2008 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Career Arena League statistics | |||||||||||||
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Early years
editCassidy earned four varsity letters in both football and basketball at Lake Region High School in Eagle Lake, Florida. He was a three-year captain of the football team and two-year captain of the basketball squad. He was a three-time team MVP in football and team MVP in basketball as a senior. Cassidy also won the Slam Dunk Championship in the Florida Polk County All-Star Game. He helped the football team earn its first-ever appearance in the state playoffs as a sophomore in 2003 and the basketball team advance to the state semifinals his junior and senior years.[1]
College career
editCassidy played for the Rhode Island Rams from 2005 to 2008. He ranks third all-time in Rhode Island history with 5,005 career passing yards and 31 passing touchdowns. He completed 261 of 440 passes for 2,759 yards and 15 touchdowns his senior year.[2]
Professional career
editNew Orleans VooDoo
editCassidy was assigned to the New Orleans VooDoo of the AFL on February 16, 2011.[2] He completed 12 of 24 passes for 150 yards and one touchdown with three interceptions as a rookie.[3] He was reassigned by the VooDoo on April 18, 2011.[4]
Columbus Lions
editCassidy appeared in two games for the Columbus Lions of the PIFL in 2012, throwing one interception on two incomplete passes.[5]
Pittsburgh Power
editCassidy was assigned to the Pittsburgh Power of the AFL on April 4, 2012.[6] On April 14, 2012, the Power overcame a 48–17 deficit to defeat the Orlando Predators by a score of 57–54 in overtime, setting a new record for largest comeback in AFL history. Cassidy, who entered the game in the second quarter after an injury to Andrico Hines, completed the game-winning touchdown pass to Christian Wise.[7][8] He completed 48 of 79 passes for 566 yards and 12 touchdowns with six interceptions in 2012. He played in six games for the Power in 2013, recording seven touchdowns and four interceptions.[3]
AFL statistics
edit| Year | Team | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | TD | ||
| 2011 | New Orleans | 12 | 24 | 50.0 | 150 | 1 | 3 | 40.62 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | Pittsburgh | 48 | 79 | 60.8 | 566 | 12 | 6 | 88.90 | 13 | 27 | 2 |
| 2013 | Pittsburgh | 25 | 59 | 42.4 | 336 | 7 | 4 | 62.54 | 4 | 30 | 1 |
| Career | 85 | 162 | 52.5 | 1,052 | 20 | 13 | 70.29 | 17 | 57 | 3 | |
Stats from ArenaFan:[9]
References
edit- ^ "10 - Derek Cassidy". gorhody.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- ^ a b "Former Rhody Quarterback Derek Cassidy Joins AFL's VooDoo". gorhody.com. February 21, 2011. Archived from the original on July 15, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- ^ a b "Derek Cassidy". arenafootball.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- ^ "Historical Team Transactions". arenafan.com. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- ^ Markowitz, Adam (April 19, 2012). "IFL Signing Looks Bad For Struggling AFL". arenafan.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
- ^ "Historical Team Transactions". arenafan.com. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- ^ Weiss, Zachary. "Pittsburgh Power: Power complete largest comeback in Arena Football history; Derek Cassidy, defense team up to get second win". cityofchampionssports.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- ^ "Power Makes History in OT Win". pittsburghpowerfootball.com. April 14, 2012. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- ^ "Derek Cassidy". arenafan.com. Retrieved July 8, 2017.