GILMER, Texas — Another East Texan is headed to the pros.
Gilmer's Tra Fluellen has been selected by the UFL's Houston Roughnecks.
The UFL held its college draft on Wednesday and with the Roughnecks second pick, they took the former Buckeye.
"Houston is a great place, that's home for me. I was at my first college, Houston Baptist, which is right down the road from where, they are so it was great to hear. I felt reassured that teams still wanted me," Fluellen said.
Fluellen has spent the last three seasons at Middle Tennessee State University making an impact on the defensive side of the ball. In 2023, Fluellen registered 64 total tackles, along with three interceptions and six pass deflections. During his senior season, he experienced an ACL tear that caused him to miss multiple games and potentially caused him to be undrafted in the NFL draft.
"So after [the ACL tear] things have been kind of on hold. I've been working up here in Nashville, in silence and working every day, for the past seven months. But it's been lonely. During the [NFL] draft it was hard for me not hear my name called knowing I should have been one of those draft picks. But I tore my ACL and the biggest question that everybody had, was is he going to be back and ready?" Fluellen said.
A 2019 Gilmer grad, he had over 1,000 all purpose yards in his senior season with the Buckeyes and signed with Houston Baptist in the spring of 2019. After two season with the Huskies, Fluellen transfered to Middle Tennessee State.
The Houston Roughnecks finished the season with an 1-9 record in 2024.