Four Former Delaware Valley Aggies Who Forged a Professional Football Career
Every young football player dreams of one day stepping onto the field sporting the uniform of a National Football League (NFL) team. Many of those youngsters ply their trade for the Delaware Valley Aggies. They know that if they star for the Aggies, there is a chance they will achieve their goal of playing in the NFL, just like these four famous former Aggies.
Rasheed Bailey
Rasheed Bailey was a standout wide receiver for the Delaware Valley Aggies between 2011 and 2014 and the player every Pike Country football fan thought would be the most likely to have their name displayed online in the Sunday night football bets markets. However, although Bailey represented five NFL franchises, he never played a competitive game.
It’s been a decade since Bailey pulled on an Aggies uniform, but he is still talked about, especially among the current wide receivers. In Bailey’s senior year in 2014, he set single-season school records in all major receiving categories and led Division III in receiving yards, yards per game, and touchdowns.
To this day, Bailey’s college career receiving yards of 3,138 is a school record, while his touchdowns (29) and receptions (165) rank second and third in the Aggies’ all-time standings.
Surprisingly, Bailey went undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft. The Philadelphia Eagles signed him as an undrafted free agent, but they cut him before the start of the 2015 regular season. Over the next few years, Bailey found himself on the practice squads of the BC Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Diego Chargers, Cleveland Browns, and Carolina Panthers before heading north of the border to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
Bailey stayed with the Blue Bombers until February 2024, when he signed for the Toronto Argonauts. The Argonauts released Bailey in July 2024, and he is now part of the setup at the Ottawa Redblacks.To date, Bailey has 2,317 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns in the CFL.
Aaron Wilmer
Aaron Wilmer started his college football career with the West Chester Golden Rams, although he redshirted his first season in 2010 before transferring to the Delaware Valley Aggies. Wilmer, a quarterback, played on the same team as Rasheed Bailey, with Bailey a frequent target for him.
Wilmer was the Aggies’ starting quarterback from 2011-2014 and helped the team to a MAC Championship in 2011. He finished his Aggies career with 692 completions for 10,157 yards and 84 touchdowns. Those impressive figures rank second only to Adam Knoblauch, who amazingly turned his back on football despite his record-setting statistic.
As with Bailey mentioned earlier. Wilmer went undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft, raising eyebrows. He trained with the Philadelphia Eagles for a while and spent time with the CFL’s BC Lions and Calgary Stampeders before signing a contract with the Spokane Empire of the Indoor Football League.
Although Wilmer never played a game in the NFL or CFL, he stuck to his guns and eventually made it as a professional football player.
Bill Cottrell
Way before Bailey and Wilmer graced the field with their presence, two brothers turned out for the Delaware Valley Aggies before embarking on an NFL career. Bill Cottrell was the older of the two brothers, born in September 1944. The offensive lineman spent five years in the NFL, first with the Detroit Lions and later with the Denver Broncos.
Cottrell played in 63 games and was a starter in ten of those.
Ted Cottrell
Ted Cottrell was three years younger than his brother, Bill, and he followed in his footsteps into the National Football League. Ted Cottrell entered the 1969 NFL Draft, a draft made famous by the Buffalo Bills selecting O.J. Simpson as the first overall pick. Cottrell was selected 164th overall in the seventh round, with the Atlanta Falcons choosing him.
Cottrell played 24 games, starting one, for the Falcons between 1969 and 1970 and became the Falcons’ first-ever black linebacker. After leaving the Falcons, Cottrell spent a season with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL before calling time on his playing career. He may have finished playing, but Cottrell wanted to remain within football, so he began a coaching career.
After serving as the defensive line coach and then defensive coordinator for Rutgers University, the Kansas City Chiefs hired Cottrell as the linebackers coach, his first job in the NFL. He also enjoyed roles with the Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, and the San Diego Chargers, among many college roles. More recently, Cottrell was the defensive coordinator for the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL).
Although not a former Aggie, Cottrell’s son T.J. made it to the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings.
Which Aggie Will be Next to Play Professional Football?
The world of professional football is cutthroat, and most players never progress from the college game to the NFL or a similar league. Take 2024 as an example. The 2024 NFL Draft saw 257 players selected, yet approximately 81,000 players played football across 773 colleges and universities.
That said, Rasheed Bailey, Aaron Wilmer, and the Cottrell brothers, Bill and Ted, are living proof that anyone can forge a career for themselves in professional football. While Bailey and Wilmer did not see any game time in the NFL, they picked up invaluable experience playing for NFL teams before playing professionally elsewhere.
Bob Cottrell played 63 NFL games, while his brother Ted’s career was shorter at 24 professional appearances. However, Ted Cottrell embarked on a coaching career that saw him coach for some of the NFL and college football’s best-known teams.
This quartet of former Aggies proves that with hard work, determination, and a little luck, it is possible to forge a professional football career for yourself.