Jeremy Staat

Infobox NFLretired
name=Jeremy Staat


width=
caption=
position=Defensive tackle
number=94, 95
birthdate=birth date and age|1976|10|10 Bakersfield, California
deathdate=
debutyear=1998
finalyear=2003
draftyear=1998
draftround=2
draftpick=41
college=Arizona State
teams=
*Pittsburgh Steelers (1998-2000)
*St. Louis Rams (2003)
stat1label=Tackles
stat1value=20
stat2label=Sacks
stat2value=0
stat3label=Interceptions
stat3value=0
nfl=STA002268

Jeremy Ray Staat (born October 10, 1976 in Bakersfield, California) is a former American Football defensive end who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1998 and the St. Louis Rams for two games in 2003. He also played for the Los Angeles Avengers arena football team. He is currently a United States Marine serving in Iraq.

Football career

Staat was a two-sport star in Bakersfield High School in California, where he was All-Area selection. He then attended Bakersfield College, a junior college, for two years before transferring to Arizona State University. Staat was a former teammate of deceased former Arizona Cardinals free safety and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman where they were roommates at ASU. While in Tempe he won the Morris Trophy as the best defensive lineman in the Pac-10 Conference in 1997.ref|Morris In the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft, The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Staat as the 41st overall pick. He played three seasons in Pittsburgh, starting in eleven games in the 1999 season. Staat played in 31 career games, recording 20 tackles and no quarterback sacks. Originally Staat wanted to join the Marines right after the September 11, 2001 attacks, but his former roommate, Pat Tillman, encouraged him to gain his retirement benefits first.ref|Join

Military service

The death of Pat Tillman motivated Staat to join the United States Marine Corps in 2006.ref|motivated He completed his recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in March 2006. ”The way I look at it, we’re spreading freedom, and you have to support the troops and you have to support the war,” Staat, 29, told KITV in Honolulu. ”You can’t just tell some Marine who just lost his buddy that we supported you but not the war, because in that case you’re basically saying that Marine, his buddy, just died for nothing. We’re one team.” [http://newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/3/22/81725.shtml?s=ic] In March 2007, Lance Corporal Staat deployed with 1st Battalion 3rd Marines for a seven month mission in Iraq.ref|deploy

References

# cite web|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/events/1998/nfldraft/topplayers/45.html |title=NFL Draft - Jeremy Staat - April 13, 1998 |accessdate=2006-03-17 |publisher="Sports Illustrated"-CNN
# cite news|accessdate=2007-03-23
url=http://www.nfl.com/news/story/10083353
date=March 23, 2007
title= Tillman's college roommate deployed to Iraq
author=NFL.com wire reports
publisher=NFL.com
# [http://www.nfl.com/news/story/9304805 Staat, Tillman's ASU teammate, joins Marines] retrieved March 17, 2006
# cite news|accessdate=2007-03-21
url=http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6592988?MSNHPHCP&GT1=9232
date=March 21, 2006
title= Former Tillman teammate headed to Iraq
author=Associated Press
publisher=Fox Sports

External links

*cite web|url=http://football.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=4300
title=NFL - Jeremy Staat - St. Louis Rams - Player Card
publisher=ESPN