Joseph Addai
| Career history | |
|---|---|
| Indianapolis Colts | |
Joseph "Joe" Addai (born May 3, 1983) is an American running back of Ghanaian heritage, currently playing American football for the National Football League's Indianapolis Colts franchise. He was drafted in the first round (thirtieth overall) in the 2006 draft out of Louisiana State University (LSU) in the first round.
Career
High school
The son of African immigrants in Houston, TX, In high school, Addai was a left-handed option-style quarterback for the Sharpstown "Fighting Apollos". In his senior year, he rushed for 1,429 yards on 159 carries and completed 37 passes for 425 yards. He was chosen to be a member of the 5-A All-State first team in Texas. He was named All-American by ESPN and Fox Sports, as well being rated top 100 by Rivals.com
College
During his tenure with the Louisiana State Tigers, he ranked fifth all-time in rushing, with 2,577 yards, despite being used as a blocking fullback early in his career. He met his now wife Keion Marbley, a current student of LSU.
Addai started his stint at LSU in 2001, but after only two games was granted a medical redshirt. The following season, he carried the football 80 times, gaining 438 yards, and scoring four touchdowns. His first big game came against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Tiger Stadium, during which he gained 98 yards on eleven carries and scored two touchdowns, leading the Tigers to a 48-0 victory. On November 9, 2002, he amassed 91 yards, including a 63 yard run for a score, against the Kentucky Wildcats at Commonwealth Stadium. His performance helped to set the stage for The Bluegrass Miracle, a "miraculous" 74-yard game-winning touchdown pass from quarterback Marcus Randall to wide receiver Devery Henderson.
Addai's sophomore season proved to be a banner year for LSU. Led by coach Nick Saban, the Tigers won the BCS National Championship, the first national championship for LSU since 1958. Addai ranked second to freshman Justin Vincent in rushing, gaining 520 yards on 114 attempts. He led LSU's early season 59-13 rout of the Arizona Wildcats with an 86 yard, two touchdown performance.
In 2004, he rushed for 680 yards on 101 carries and caught 24 passes for 294 yards, scoring a total of seven touchdowns. He stood out against the Alabama Crimson Tide in a 26-10 Tiger Stadium victory on the 13th of November. He led the team in rushing with 99 yards and added another 46 yards receiving, as well as scoring two of the three Tiger touchdowns. for the day. The following week he teamed with Alley Broussard (250 yards on 26 carries) to lead the Tigers to a 27-24 victory over the Ole Miss Rebels. Addai's 107 yards was part of an impressive 360 yard ground attack by the Tigers.
Addai emerged as LSU's feature tailback during his senior season. He led the team with 911 rushing yards on 187 carries, scoring nine touchdowns. The highlight of the regular season was a 21-17 victory over the Florida Gators in front of a record-setting 92,402 person Tiger Stadium crowd. Addai sealed the victory for LSU with a three yard touchdown run with 6:27 remaining on the clock. His career-best effort combined 156 yards rushing on 32 carries with 37 yards receiving on 3 catches. Joe Addai completed his tenure at LSU with an impressive game in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. In the Tiger's 40-3 victory over the Miami Hurricanes, he gained a total of 135 yards and scored twice.
Joseph Addai graduated from LSU in December of 2005 with a degree in General Studies.
Professional
Addai, the fourth running back selected in the 2006 Draft, was the third running back selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round since 1994, when they selected Marshall Faulk with the second overall pick in 1994 and Edgerrin James fourth overall in 1999.
On November 26, 2006 Addai tied a Colts franchise record for most rushing touchdowns in a game held by Lenny Moore, Lydell Mitchell and Eric Dickerson, as well as the NFL rookie record by rushing for 4 touchdowns against the Philadelphia Eagles. He was named the NFLs "Offensive Rookie of the Month" for November on December 7, 2006. [1]
During the 2006 season, Addai led all rookie running backs in rushing yards with 1,081. He also became the first NFL running back to exceed 1,000 rushing yards without starting a regular-season game. His first career start came on January 6, 2007 for the Colts/Chiefs wildcard playoff game. During the game he ran for 122 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries and caught 7 passes for 26 yards. For the next week, leading up to the divisional round of the playoffs, Addai became the target of Baltimore Ravens' linebackers Ray Lewis' and Bart Scott's trash talking, but did not respond to either of their comments, as the Colts upset the favored Ravens 15-6.[2] On January 21, 2007, in the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots, Addai scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:00 remaining, giving the Colts a 38-34 victory and a trip to Super Bowl XLI. The Colts went on to win the game with their rush attack, dominating the Chicago defense. Addai had 77 rushing yards and 10 receptions for 66 yards, for 143 total yards. His 10 receptions were the most ever by a running back in a Super Bowl, which left him one catch short of the overall record.
Trivia
- Chris Berman of ESPN granted Addai a "Bermanism", calling him "Joseph 'Live and Let' Addai", in reference to the Paul McCartney song Live and Let Die.
- Joseph Addai was featured in Lil Boosie video "Wipe Me Down."
References
- ^ "Addai, Ingram top rookies for November". Retrieved 2007-01-26.
- ^ "Playoff notebook: Seahawks have own QB concerns; Ravens target Addai". Retrieved 2007-01-26.
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