Nicklaus O'Leary is one of five children of Bill and Nan (Nicklaus) O'Leary.[1][2] He attended Dwyer High School in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he played football and lacrosse.[1] He won state titles in both football and lacrosse. As a senior, he had 51 receptions for 875 yards and 12 touchdowns.[3] Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was listed as the top-ranked tight end recruit in his class.[4]
College career
Nick O'Leary at FSU.
As a true freshman in 2011, O'Leary played in all 13 games with two starts. He finished the season with 12 receptions for 164 yards and one touchdown. As a sophomore in 2012, he started 11 of 13 games, recording 21 receptions for 252 yards and three touchdowns. As a junior in 2013, he was a John Mackey Award finalist after recording 33 receptions for 557 yards with seven touchdowns.[5] After considering entering the 2014 NFL draft, O'Leary returned to Florida State for his senior season.[6] During his senior season, he set Florida State's record for career receptions for a tight end.[7] He again was a finalist for the John Mackey Award, this time winning it.[8] He was also named a consensus All-American.[9] O'Leary finished the season with 48 receptions for 618 yards and six touchdowns.[10] For his career, O'Leary had 114 receptions for 1,591 yards and 17 touchdowns.
On September 8, 2015, the Bills cut O'Leary and re-signed him to the practice squad two days later.[12] On December 8, 2015, he was promoted to the active roster after Matthew Mulligan was cut.[13]
On November 12, 2017, in a 47–10 loss to the New Orleans Saints, he caught his first career touchdown, a seven-yard pass from quarterback Nathan Peterman.[14]
On September 1, 2018, O'Leary was released by the Bills.[15]
Miami Dolphins
On September 20, 2018, O'Leary was signed to the Miami Dolphins' practice squad.[16] He was promoted to the active roster on October 5, 2018.[17] He scored his first touchdown with the Dolphins in Week 6 against the Bears on a five-yard pass from Brock Osweiler.[18] On December 1, 2018, O'Leary signed a one-year contract extension with the Dolphins through the 2019 season.[19]
On October 29, 2019, O’Leary was released by the Dolphins.
On April 6, 2020, O'Leary was signed by the Las Vegas Raiders.[21] He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list on May 28, 2020.[22] On June 23, 2020, it was revealed that O'Leary underwent a heart procedure because there was a 100% blockage in one artery adjacent with the heart. Some sources surfaced that O'Leary was retiring from football, but O'Leary still intended to play in 2021, regardless of his recent procedure.[23]
Coaching career
In 2023, O'Leary joined Florida State as a student assistant coach, working with the offense.[24]
O'Leary's maternal grandfather is golfing legend Jack Nicklaus.[25][26] Nick's father, Bill, was a highly recruited tight end who played at the University of Georgia, and his mother, Nan, played volleyball at Georgia.[27]
