McCallan Verona Castles (born December 3, 1999) is an American professional football tight end for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, UC Davis and Tennessee.
| No. 46 – Los Angeles Chargers | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | December 3, 1999 South Lake Tahoe, California, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight: | 250 lb (113 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | South Tahoe (South Lake Tahoe, California) |
| College: | California (2018–2019) UC Davis (2020–2022) Tennessee (2023) |
| Undrafted: | 2024 |
| Career history | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Roster status: | Practice squad |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life and high school
editCastles initially grew up in Berthoud, Colorado and attended Berthoud High School.[1] He moved with his family to South Lake Tahoe, California after his sophomore year of high school and transferred to South Tahoe High School.[2] Castles caught 102 passes for 2,027 yards and 27 touchdowns in two seasons at South Tahoe.[3]
College career
editCastles began his college football career with the California Golden Bears. He played in three games during his true freshman season while maintaining a redshirt on the year and caught one pass, which was a 15-yard reception in Cal's 10-7 win over TCU in the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl.[4] Castles left the team two games into his sophomore season. He later entered the NCAA transfer portal.[5]
Castles ultimately transferred to UC Davis.[6] He was named first-team All-Big Sky Conference after catching 12 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns in his first season playing for the Aggies, which was shortened and played in the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[7] Castles was named second-team All-Big Sky after recording 27 receptions for 387 yards and four touchdowns.[8] Castles had 30 catches for 347 yards and two touchdowns in his redshirt senior season.[9] After the season, he entered the NCAA transfer portal and utilize the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes who played in the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic.[10]
Castles committed to transfer to Tennessee.[11] In the 2023 season, Castles played in all 13 games. He had 22 receptions for 283 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.[12]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4+3⁄8 in (1.94 m) |
244 lb (111 kg) |
33 in (0.84 m) |
9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m) |
4.68 s | 1.66 s | 2.57 s | 4.36 s | 7.21 s | 37.5 in (0.95 m) |
10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) |
16 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[13] | ||||||||||||
Philadelphia Eagles
editCastles was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent on May 3, 2024.[14] He was also selected by the Memphis Showboats in the ninth round of the 2024 UFL draft on July 17.[15] McCallan was waived with an injury designation on August 3.[16]
Los Angeles Chargers
editOn October 15, 2024, Castles signed with the Los Angeles Chargers practice squad.[17]
References
edit- ^ "NFL Draft Profile: McCallan Castles, Tight End, California-Davis Aggies". SI.com. November 2, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- ^ Gentile, Anthony (August 30, 2016). "Strong start: South Tahoe football rolls past Sparks for season opening victory". Tahoe Daily Tribune. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ^ "South Tahoe High grad McCallan Castles heading to play football for Tennessee". SouthTahoeNOW.com. December 7, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
- ^ Paschall, David (March 29, 2023). "Vols' Castles hopes traveling from FCS to FBS leads to NFL". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
- ^ "Cal tight end McCallan Castles announces plan to transfer". The Mercury News. September 12, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ^ Curtis, Jake (September 2, 2022). "Ex-Cal TE McCallan Castles Returns to Berkeley as UC Davis Star". SI.com. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ^ "Whelan, Castles, Larison honored by HERO Sports All-America teams". Davis Enterprise. May 20, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ^ "Football: Castles earns All-American status". Davis Enterprise. August 12, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ^ Brown, Patrick (January 19, 2023). "Transfer TE Castles checks the boxes at 'real position of need' for Vols". 247Sports.com. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
- ^ Sonnone, Brendan (November 29, 2022). "Intriguing Names to Enter the NCAA Transfer Portal (Monday, Nov. 28)". 247Sports.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
- ^ Sparks, Adam (December 7, 2022). "Tennessee football lands tight end McCallan Castles in transfer portal". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
- ^ "McCallan Castles 2023 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
- ^ "McCallan Castles College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
- ^ Boyle, Owen (May 3, 2024). "Eagles sign 7 rookie free agents". PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
- ^ "2024 UFL College Draft: Showboats select Kansas QB Jason Bean with No. 1 pick". FoxSports.com. July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
- ^ McPherson, Chris. "Roster Move: Eagles waive TE McCallan Castles with an injury designation". philadelphiaeagles.com. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
- ^ Borquez, Gavino. "Chargers sign TE McCallan Castles to practice squad". Chargers Wire. Retrieved October 16, 2024.