Jeremy Ray Staat (born October 10, 1976) is a former American football defensive lineman and offensive lineman who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1998 through 2000 and the St. Louis Rams for two games in 2003. He also played for the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League. After his football career, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was deployed to Iraq. On September 17, 2019, Staat, a registered Republican, announced his candidacy for Congress in California's 8th District. Football career Staat was a two-sport star in Bakersfield High School in Bakersfield, California, where he was All-Area selection. He then attended Bakersfield College, a junior college, where he played offensive and defensive line for two years while also excelling in track and field. After initially expressing interest in transferring to the University of Nebraska as a walk on, he was offered a full ride scholarship to Arizona State University as a defensive lineman. At ASU, Staat became friends with free safety Pat Tillman, and was a roommate with Tillman's brother for a semester. While playing for the Sun Devils, he won the Morris Trophy as the best defensive lineman in the Pac-10 Conference in 1997 and was named a FWAA First-team All-American. In the 1998 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Staat with the 41st overall pick. The Steelers had debated about whether to take Staat or Alan Faneca with their first round pick but ultimately was able to take both. He played three seasons in Pittsburgh, starting in eleven games in the 1999 season. He would sign with the Seattle Seahawks in 2001 but would be cut from the team following the preseason. Cut by a football team for the first time in his life, Staat began seriously considering joining the military following the September 11, 2001 attacks. However, Tillman, who had quit a lucrative career with the Arizona Cardinals to become a U.S. Army Ranger after the attacks, talked Staat into staying in the league for at least three more games to earn his NFL retirement benefits. In 2002, he signed with the Oakland Raiders and was moved to offensive guard by Bill Callahan. He would be cut during the preseason, however, after Jon Gruden was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite speculation that he would reunite with Jake Plummer on the Arizona Cardinals, following an injury to defensive lineman Tom Burke,