Dennis Pitta

Dennis Pitta

Aug 2011 M&T Bank stadium practice
No. 88     Baltimore Ravens
Tight end
Personal information
Date of birth: June 29, 1985 (1985-06-29) (age 26)
Place of birth: Fresno, California
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	Weight: 245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
College: Brigham Young
NFL Draft: 2010 / Round: 4 / Pick: 114
Debuted in 2010 for the Baltimore Ravens
Career history
Baltimore Ravens (2010–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
2007 All-MWC first team 2008 All-MWC first team 2008 Rivals.com All-America third team 2008 College Football News All-America honorable mention 2008 Sports Illustrated All-America honorable mention 2009 AFCA All-America first team 2009 All-MWC first team 2009 Mackey Award finalist
Career NFL statistics as of Week 10, 2011
Receptions	25
Receiving Yards	244
Receiving TDs	0
Stats at NFL.com

Dennis Pitta (born June 29, 1985) is an American football tight end for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Brigham Young.

Early years

Pitta was born in Fresno, California to parents Dennis and Linda Pitta. His father played college football as a middle linebacker for California from 1968 to 1969. Dennis Pitta attended Moorpark High School where he earned letters in football, basketball, and track. He played football as a wide receiver and cornerback,^[1] and his large size made him difficult to cover.^[2] As a senior in 2002, Pitta recorded 64 receptions for 1,150 yards and 13 touchdowns. That season, he was named a first-team all-county, all-league, and all-area player.^[1] He was a scholar-athlete all four years in high school and was also named a National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete. Pitta was shown interest by Dartmouth, Navy, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Utah, and Yale,^[1] but no Division I school offered him a scholarship.^[3]

College career

Pitta chose to attend Brigham Young University, where he walked onto the football team as a wide receiver. Pitta was moved to tight end by head coach Gary Crowton, where he soon earned a scholarship.^[3] He sat out the 2003 season on "grayshirt" status.^[1] In 2004, he saw significant playing time as a result of an injury to starter Daniel Coats.^[4] Pitta recorded 17 receptions for 176 yards and two touchdowns,^[1] and actually finished the season with more receptions than Coats.^[4] Both of his scores came in the game against Air Force,^[1] where he also blocked a punt upon which BYU capitalized for a score.^[3]

Pitta is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Pitta participated in a Mormon mission in the Dominican Republic,^[1] which caused a two-year hiatus in his college football career.^[4][5] He returned to BYU for the 2007 season, and recorded 59 receptions for 813 yards and five touchdowns.^[6] He finished the season as the nation's fifth-leading tight end in yards per game at 63. Pitta was named to the All-Mountain West Conference (MWC) first team, and he also received Academic All-MWC honors.^[1]

In 2008, he recorded 83 receptions for 1,083 yards and six touchdowns.^[6] Against Northern Iowa, he compiled 213 yards, which broke the conference receiving yards record for a tight end and earned him the John Mackey Tight End of the Week honors. Against Colorado State, he caught the game-winning 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Max Hall, and was named the John Mackey Tight End of the Week and a MWC Co-Offensive Player of the Week. Pitta finished the season as the team's second-leading receiver. He was a Lombardi Award and Biletnikoff Award candidate, and a Mackey Award semifinalist.^[7] Pitta was named to the All-MWC first team, and again received Academic All-MWC honors. College Football News and Sports Illustrated named him an honorable mention All-American, and Rivals.com named him to its All-America third team.^[1]

Prior to the 2009 season, The NFL Draft Scout, a CBS Sports affiliate, rated Pitta as the sixth-ranked out of 92 tight ends available for the 2010 NFL Draft. They project him as being selected in the third or fourth round.^[8] Phil Steele's assessed him as the fourth-ranked draft-eligible tight end and placed him on its preseason All-America fourth team.^[9]

He was one of three finalists for the Mackey Award. He was named to the 2009 All-MWC first team and the 2009 AFCA Coaches' All-America team.

Dennis Pitta, Reception Records in BYU Cougars football History^[10]

Category	Number	BYU Rank, All Time	Notes
Career receptions	221[10]	1st	Passed Austin Collie (215) in 2009
Career receiving yards	2,856	4th	1st for TEs[11]
Season receiving yards	1,083	4th	1st for TEs
Career receiving touchdowns	20	20th (tie: Manase Tonga)	2nd for TEs behind Gordon Hudson (22)

Professional career

Pre-draft

Pre-draft measureables

Ht	Wt	Arm length	Hand size	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
6 ft 4½ in	245 lb	32¼ in	10 in	4.63 s					34 in	9 ft 5 in	27 rep
All values from NFL Combine[12]

Baltimore Ravens

Pitta was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round (114th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was signed to a three-year contract on June 21, 2010.^[13]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Dennis Pitta, Brigham Young University, retrieved August 1, 2009.
2. ^ PITTA PRESENTS A TALL ORDER, Daily News of Los Angeles, October 7, 2002.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Cougar adjusts to new position, Deseret News, October 27, 2004.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Pitta keeps tradition alive, Deseret News, June 17, 2007.
5. ^ Filling the gaps; Walk-ons big part of Y.'s revolving missionary door, Deseret News, October 26, 2004.
6. ^ ^{a b} Dennis Pitta Stats, ESPN, retrieved August 1, 2009.
7. ^ http://www.johnmackeyaward.org/
8. ^ Dennis Pitta, The NFL Draft Scout, retrieved August 1, 2009.
9. ^ Phil Steele's 2009 College Football Preview, vol. 15, p. 5, 2009.
10. ^ ^{a b} http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/stats?playerId=156974
11. ^ http://www.cougarstats.com/lists/recyds.html
12. ^ "Dennis Pitta Combine Profile", NFL.com, http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/dennis-pitta?id=497254, retrieved February 27, 2010 .
13. ^ Hensley, Jamison (June 21, 2010). "Fourth-round TE Dennis Pitta reaches three-year agreement". Baltimore Sun. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/blog/2010/06/fourthround_te_dennis_pitta_reaches_threeyear_agreement.html. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 

External links

• Baltimore Ravens bio
• Brigham Young Cougars football bio