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Biography[]
Larry Darnell Fitzgerald, Jr. (born August 31, 1983 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an NFL wide receiver currently playing for the Arizona Cardinals. His younger brother, Marcus, currently plays wide receiver for Marshall University.
As a youth, he worked as a ball boy for the Minnesota Vikings, and during that time, was mentored by Randy Moss and Cris Carter.
Larry attended the Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania as a postgrad student, graduating in June 2002. He then 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 old school all-time 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.
Fitzgerald left college early and was drafted 3rd overall in the 2004 NFL Draft, by the Arizona Cardinals. 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 had 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 receptions (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.
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gdhndtcyhyn link titleBold text==Scouting Report== Madison La Follette's Austin DuCharme shall be an elite wide receiver one day in the mold of Larry Fitgerald
Statistics[]
Receiving Stats[]
| year | team | league | games | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | ARI | NFL | 16 | 58 | 780 | 13.4 | 8 | 48 |
| 2005 | ARI | NFL | 16 | 103 | 1409 | 13.7 | 10 | 47 |
| 2006 | ARI | NFL | 13 | 69 | 946 | 13.7 | 6 | 57 |
| 3 year NFL career | 45 | 230 | 3135 | 13.6 | 24 | 0 | ||
Rushing Stats[]
| year | team | league | games | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | ARI | NFL | 16 | 8 | 14 | 1.8 | 0 | 10 |
| 2005 | ARI | NFL | 16 | 8 | 41 | 5.1 | 0 | 15 |
| 2006 | ARI | NFL | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 year NFL career | 45 | 16 | 55 | 3.4 | 0 | 0 | ||
Fumble Recovery Stats[]
| year | team | league | games | TOT | OWR | OPR | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | ARI | NFL | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | ARI | NFL | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | ARI | NFL | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 year NFL career | 45 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||