All Sooners

Ex-Sooner Charles Tapper Retires from Football

Two-time All-Big 12 defensive end couldn't overcome back injury and "found a better business that suits me"

John E. Hoover

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Charles Tapper, one of the most affable Oklahoma football players of the last decade, announced Monday that he will retire from football.

Tapper, who played for the Sooners from 2012-15, announced on his Facebook page, “I found a better business that suits me,” and intends to become a financial coach.

Charles Tapper - Facebook

In 2016, Tapper was a fourth-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys. The 6-foot-3, 270-pound Tapper only played in two NFL games in four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets.

Dallas placed him on injured reserve in 2017 and 2018 due to complications from a back injury. He was cut from the Cowboys in 2018, but then re-signed to the practice squad two days later.

Tapper signed with the New York Jets in January 2019 but was cut in May and didn’t play last year.

Tapper was a two-time All-Big 12 selection in 2013 and 2015 (he got honorable mention in 2014) and collected 135 tackles in his college career, including 24 tackles for loss, 13 1/2 quarterback sacks and five fumbles forced.

To get the latest OU posts as they happen, join the SI Sooners Community by clicking “Follow” at the top right corner of the page (mobile users can click the notifications bell icon), and follow SI Sooners on Twitter @All_Sooners. 

Published
John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

Home/Football