Quick Facts
Biography
David Lee Quessenberry, Jr. (born August 24, 1990) is an American football offensive tackle for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Texans in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at San Jose State. On June 10, 2014, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins T Lymphoblastic Lymphoma at the age of 23.
High school career
Born in the La Jolla community of San Diego, David Quessenberry attended La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, California and lettered in football and lacrosse. Quessenberry played tight end at La Costa Canyon. His father played college football at the United States Naval Academy and served in the United States Navy from 1980 to 2010.
College career
Having no scholarship offers out of high school, Quessenberry met a San Jose State assistant coach who was recruiting a teammate. Quessenberry later walked-on to the Spartans football team at San Jose State University in 2008 and redshirted that year to bulk up from his 235-pound weight. He would go on to play in 50 games for the Spartans with 38 starts. As a freshman in 2009 under coach Dick Tomey, Quessenberry played in all 12 games mostly on special teams and was a reserve at offensive tackle and tight end.
Quessenberry first earned an athletic scholarship the summer before sophomore season of 2010. In a 1-12 season under new coach Mike MacIntyre, Quessenberry started in all 13 games and played mostly as a punt protector and extra point lineman. As a junior in 2011, Quessenberry again started all 12 games of the season, and San Jose State football improved to 5-7. Quessenberry earned second-team All-WAC honors.
In his senior season, an 11-2 season in 2012 that included a 2012 Military Bowl victory, Quessenberry became team captain and was a Burlsworth Trophy finalist for best non-scholarship NCAA FBS player. He was also on the Rotary Lombardi Award watch list. After starting 27 straight games dating back to 2009, Quessenberry sat out the September 15 game due to an ankle injury suffered in the first play of the September 8 game. On September 29, Quessenberry played in a game against Navy, a team with younger brother Paul as offensive lineman. Selected for the 2013 Senior Bowl, Quessenberry became the first San Jose State offensive lineman to play in a Senior Bowl. He was a first-team all-WAC selection. In December 2012, Quessenberry graduated from San Jose State with a B.A. in history.
Professional career
He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the sixth round, 176th overall in 2013 NFL Draft.
| Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 5 in | 302 lb | 34 3⁄8 in | 10 5⁄8 in | 5.08 s | 1.72 s | 2.92 s | 4.45 s | 7.49 s | 29.5 in | 9 ft 4 in | 25 reps | ||||||||
| All values are from the NFL Scouting Combine. | |||||||||||||||||||
On September 10, 2013, the Texans placed Quessenberry on injured reserve after he injured a foot during practice, a season-ending injury.
On June 10, 2014, the Texans announced Quessenberry felt fatigue and had persistent cough. After seeking a medical evaluation, he was diagnosed with Lymphoma. As a result, the Texans put him on the Non-Football Illness designation. He was waived by the Texans with a non-football injury designation in May 2016. He cleared waivers and is currently on the team's non-football injury list.