Kerry Rhodes

Infobox NFLactive


currentteam=New York Jets
currentnumber=25
currentpositionplain=Safety
birthdate=birth date and age|1982|8|2
birthplace=Bessemer, Alabama
heightft=6
heightin=3
weight=220
debutyear=2004
debutteam=New York Jets
highlights=
* 1x All-Pro selection (2006)
college=Louisville
draftyear=2005
draftround=4
draftpick=123
pastteams=
* New York Jets (2005-present)
nfl=RHO457261

Kerry Rhodes (born August 2, 1982 in Bessemer, Alabama) is an American football player, who currently plays safety for the New York Jets in the National Football League.

Early years

Kerry Rhodes was born in Bessemer, Alabama to Jubrella and Jerome Rhodes and began playing football at nine years old. Kerry was a starting quarterback and honor student at Jess Lanier High School in Bessemer. As a junior, he threw more than 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns while rushing for 500 yards and three scores in 1998; guiding Lanier to a 10-2 record. During his senior season, Rhodes threw for more than 1,600 yards and ran for another 850. He was also selected Metro Player of the year and first-team All-state in basketball of which he led his team to the 6A title game.

College career

In 2000, he went to the University of Louisville as a quarterback for the Cardinals, but was moved to safety and became one of the team’s best defensive players. Kerry finished out his first season at Louisville with 10 tackles, two pass breakups and an interception. As a reserve in 2002, he had 18 tackles (12 solos), a forced fumble, two pass deflections, a blocked kick and an interception. Kerry took over chores as a free safety in 2003 and registered a career high with a sack, 82 tackles (61 solos) and three stops for losses. In 2004, He closed out his college career with 167 tackles (101 solos), a 12-yard sack, 18 pass deflections and 11 interceptions for 106 yards in returns. Rhodes was accorded first-team All-Conference USA honors that same year.

NFL career

Kerry Rhodes was drafted in the 4th round (123rd overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. That same year, he beat out Oliver Celestin for the starting job at strong safety and started in 16 consecutive games in 2005. In his first professional season, Kerry recorded 108 total tackles (85 solo), a sack, an interception, 9 pass deflections and a forced fumble.

2006 was a breakout season for the young safety. On September 24, 2006, he made a pivotal play against J.P. Losman of the Buffalo Bills, stripping the ball from the quarterback's hands and allowing Victor Hobson to return the fumble for a touchdown. This helped the Jets to a 28-20 victory. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for week 3. In Week 4, Quarterback Peyton Manning shouted, "There's Kerry! Block Kerry!" to his linemen during the Jets’ game against the Indianapolis Colts. In Week 7, Rhodes intercepted an important pass by Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna, yet another big defensive play. In Week 12, during the game against the Houston Texans, Rhodes intercepted a huge pass by quarterback David Carr in the second half. On Sunday, December 10, 2006, Kerry received the Sparkplug of the Year Award—the highest honor from the Jets Pack, a fan tailgate. Rhodes' statistics at the end of the season were of a Pro Bowl caliber, but Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, and John Lynch proved to be more popular in fan voting and earned the nod ahead of the Jets' safety. Kerry was named to the 2006 "All Pro" teams by ESPN.com, "Sports Illustrated" and the Associated Press.

2007 Kerry was ranked #29 out of the top 500 players in the NFL by Peter King for "Sports Illustrated".

On April 9, 2008 Kerry signed an extension with the Jets for 5 years worth similar to the five-year, $37.5 million contract that Indianapolis Colts safety Bob Sanders signed in December. Rhodes deal is worth for $33.5 million, with $20 million guaranteed. [ [http://web.sny.tv/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080409&content_id=1456779&oid=36122&vkey=12 SNY.tv: New York Jets Home ] ]

Measurables

* 4.56 40 yard dash
* 42 Inch Vertical jump
* 12 Reps of 225
* 6.94 3 cone drill
* 4.17 20 yard shuttle
* 10'3" broad jump

Rhodes Foundation

In 2006, Kerry established The Rhodes Foundation to address the Reaffirming Hopes Of Dream Endearing Scholars living in America’s impoverished neighborhoods. The foundation’s mission supports the educational and financial advancement of young people in underserved high schools nationwide. An event to launch The RHODES Foundation was held on July 19, 2006 at The 40/40 Club in New York sponsored by VIBE , Hpnotiq, MyVibe.tv, Ideal PR, The 40/40 Club and UMM. It was attended by fashion and entertainment names including Laveranues Coles, Jessica White, Donell Jones, Anthony Mackie, Camille McDonald from America's Next Top Model, Cycle 2 and others.

In 2007 Kerry together with Ideal PR and The Kerry RHODES Foundation created "Catching With Kids" which operates in New York and Alabama neighborhood schools encouraging students through football and general skills how to advance and "catch" all opportunities against all odds.

In 2007 Kerry kicked off his 1st Annual Celebrity Charity Basketball Game and weekend in Bessemer Alabama which received over 25 celebrity participants and supporters including Angell Conwell (Actress - "The Wash", "Baby Boy", "Soul Plane"),Melody Thornton (Singer - Pussycat Dolls), Larry Johnson (NFL), Jonathan Vilma (NFL), Carl Anthony Payne (Actor - "Martin"), Raz-B (Singer - B2K) Wesley Jonathan (Actor - "Roll Bounce"), D. Woods (Singer - Danity Kane), Marcus Paulk (Actor - "Moesha"), KeKe Wyatt (Singer), Drew Sidora (Actress - "White Chicks", "Wild Hogs") among many others. This event was presented by The Kerry RHODES Foundation, Ideal PR, and UMM.

In May 2008 Kerry paired with NFL player Terrell Owens to present the 1st Annual Kentucky Derby Football Day Camp and Celebrity Charity Game to benefit both the Catch a Dream Foundation (Terrell Owen's foundation) and The Kerry RHODES Foundation. This event was presented by Team Image PR (Terrell Owen's publicist) and Ideal PR (Kerry Rhodes's publicist).

Personal

Off the field, Kerry will appear in the films "Queen of Media" with Robin Givens and Misunderstandings. He graced the cover of "Essence" in August 2007 for his community and foundation work noted as a 2007 "Do Right Man." Additionally, he has been featured in and on the covers of "Indulge Magazine", "King", "Upscale Magazine", "ESPN The Magazine", "Sports Illustrated", "Elan eXtreme Magazine", "Jenesis Magazine" and "XPoz Magazine" among others. Kerry majored in Communications and minored in Theater Arts at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Kerry has a personal publicist in Los Angeles being represented by Ideal PR, LLC.

References

External links

* [http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/419435 NFL.com]
* [http://www.idealpr.com IdealPR]
* [http://web.sny.tv/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080409&content_id=1456779&oid=36122&vkey=12]