Thaddeus Bullard

Thaddeus Michael Bullard (April 29, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and former college and professional football player. Bullard played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally in the Arena Football League. Bullard is a professional wrestler, and is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) under the ring name Titus O'Neil, and was part of the second season of NXT.

Early life
Bullard was born in Boynton Beach, Florida in 1977. He grew up in Live Oak, Florida, where he attended Suwannee High School. A standout in high school football, he was recognized by Parade magazine as a high school All-American as a senior in 1995. Bullard received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, and played for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team. He redshirted during the Gators' 1996 national championship season. Bullard lettered the next four seasons, playing in forty-four regular season games with three starts. He was elected student body vice president in April 2000, and graduated in August 2000. He was also initiated as a brother of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

After college, Bullard played in the Arena Football League from 2003 until 2007 with the Utah Blaze, Tampa Bay Storm, Las Vegas Gladiators and the Carolina Cobras.

Professional wrestling career
Bullard signed a developmental deal with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2009 and began training with their development territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). He made his television debut on the January 16, 2010 edition of FCW's show on Bright House Sports Network as Titus O'Neil in a tag team match with Skip Sheffield, losing to the team of Vance Archer and Alex Riley.

NXT
On the season 1 finale of WWE NXT that aired June 1, 2010, it was announced Titus O'Neil would compete in the second season of the show, with Zack Ryder as his WWE pro and mentor. He debuted on the June 8 episode, teaming with Ryder in a loss to Eli Cottonwood and John Morrison.. During and after the bout the two aruged. The following week in the two made up with. Two weeks later, O'Neil was the first person eliminated from the second season of NXT, and gave a farewell speech before leaving the arena. O'Neil returned for the season finale on August 31, joining the other eliminated rookies in attacking the winner, Kaval.

Championships and accomplishments

 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * PWI ranked him #453 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010

External links and references

 * WWE Profile
 * Titus O'Neil Twitter
 * Florida Gators football profile