Larry Fitzgerald: Difference between revisions
| [pending revision] | [pending revision] |
| Line 53: | Line 53: | ||
[[Image:NCAA Football 2005 Coverart.jpg|right|thumb|100px|Larry Fitzgerald on the cover of [[NCAA Football 2005]]]] |
[[Image:NCAA Football 2005 Coverart.jpg|right|thumb|100px|Larry Fitzgerald on the cover of [[NCAA Football 2005]]]] |
||
Fitzgerald was featured in the cover of the [[EA Sports]] [[video game]] [[NCAA Football 2005]]. |
Fitzgerald was featured in the cover of the [[EA Sports]] [[video game]] [[NCAA Football 2005]]. |
||
He is currently the |
He is currently one the premier recievers in the league, but he is not one of the best. |
||
==Personal== |
==Personal== |
||
Revision as of 18:17, 14 July 2008
 Larry Fitzgerald at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. | |||||||||
| Arizona Cardinals | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Pittsburgh | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2004 / round: 1 / pick: 3 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2007 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Larry Darnell Fitzgerald, Jr. (born August 31, 1983 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cardinals third overall in the 2004 NFL Draft He played college football at the University of Pittsburgh.
Early years
As a youth, he was a ball boy for the Minnesota Vikings, and during that time, he was mentored by Cris Carter and Randy Moss.
Larry attended Minnehaha Academy in 1998 as a freshman. As a freshman he starred on the Redhawks varsity football team as a defensive back. Larry also played in one of the most lopsided games in Minnesota State high school football history. DeLasalle High School, led by the future Northwestern and University of Minnesota standout Ben Johnson, beat the Redhawks 79-0. Larry made a decision the following fall when he enrolled at The Academy of Holy Angels. At Holy Angels Larry dominated while playing with future University of Wisconsin quarterback John Stocco. In early 2001 in the middle of his senior year, Larry transferred to the Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania to help him better prepare for college. He graduated a year and a half later in May 2002.Growing up as a child his best friend was Giovany Jauregui
College career
He attended the University of Pittsburgh and became a star, widely considered one of the greatest players at his position in the history of the college game. After just his sophomore year, Fitzgerald garnered the 2003 Walter Camp Player of the Year Award (for the best player in college football), the 2003 Biletnikoff Award (for the best wide receiver in college football), and 2003 Columbus Touchdown Club Player of the Year was a unanimous 2003 All-America selection. Additionally, he was 2003 runner-up for the prestigious Heisman Trophy, for the most outstanding player in college football; Oklahoma's Jason White won that award by a relatively slim margin.
In just 26 games with the Panthers, Fitzgerald hauled in 161 passes for 2,677 yards (16.6 avg.) and 34 touchdowns. Only Antonio Bryant (173, 1999-2001) and Latef Grim (178, 1998-2000) had more receptions in a career at Pittsburgh. His 2,677 yards rank behind Grim (2,680), Dietrich Jells (3,003, 1991-95) and Bryant (3,061). His 34 scoring grabs broke the school record of 30 by Bryant. Fitzgerald also holds an NCAA record with at least one touchdown catch in eighteen straight games. He was the first player in school history with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons receiving, and his 14 games with at least 100 yards receiving broke the previous Panthers all-time record of 13, set by Bryant.
Professional career
Fitzgerald left the University of Pittsburgh after a tremendous year in which he caught 87 passes for 1,595 yards and 22 TDs. He was drafted 3rd overall in the 2004 NFL Draft, by the Arizona Cardinals. Dennis Green, then coach of the Cardinals knew Fitzgerald from the Vikings from his time as a ball boy.
So far, he has proven to be a franchise wide receiver. In 2004 he had 58 receptions for 780 yards and 8 touchdowns. In 2005 he led the NFL with 103 receptions for 1,409 yards and 10 touchdowns and was named to his first Pro Bowl. Fitzgerald teams with Anquan Boldin to create one of the most dangerous wide receiver tandems in the NFL. In 2005, the Arizona Cardinals WRs became only the third duo from the same team to each catch over 100 passes (see Herman Moore and Brett Perriman, also Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey). Boldin and Fitzgerald also topped the 1,400-yard mark, only the third duo to achieve that in NFL history. They joined Detroit's Herman Moore and Brett Perriman, who accomplished the feat in 1995, and St. Louis' Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, who did it in 2000. In 2006, Fitzgerald was injured and missed part of the season, but still produced 69 receptions for 946 yards and 6 touchdowns. As part of his 2007 Pro Bowl season, he caught 100 receptions for 1,409 yards and 10 touchdowns. Following the 2007 season Fitzgerald signed a four-year, $40 million contract extension with Arizona.[1]
In the media
Fitzgerald was featured in the cover of the EA Sports video game NCAA Football 2005. He is currently one the premier recievers in the league, but he is not one of the best.
Personal
His younger brother, Marcus, currently plays wide receiver for Marshall University.
References
- ^ Cards, Fitzgerald agree to $40M deal, FOX Sports, 2008-03-11, retrieved 2008-03-11
{{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)