Marcus McNeill

Marcus McNeill

Marcus McNeill during the 2009 NFL season.
No. 73     San Diego Chargers
Offensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: November 16, 1983 (1983-11-16) (age 28)
Place of birth: Chicago, Illinois
Height: 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	Weight: 336 lb (152 kg)
Career information
College: Auburn
NFL Draft: 2006 / Round: 2 / Pick: 50
Debuted in 2006 for the San Diego Chargers
Career history
San Diego Chargers (2006–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
2× Pro Bowl selection (2006, 2007) Offensive Rookie of the Month (September 2006) 2× First-team All-America (2004, 2005) 2× Consensus First-team All-SEC Selection (2004, 2005)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2010
Games played	73
Games started	73
Fumbles Recovered	2
Stats at NFL.com

Marcus McNeill (born November 16, 1983 in Chicago, Illinois) is a professional American football offensive tackle who currently plays for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 2nd round (50th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Chargers. He played college football at Auburn University.

Early years

Attended Cedar Grove High School in Ellenwood, Georgia playing both offensive and defensive line for the Saints earning SuperPrep All-American honors. Played in the Georgia-Florida High School All-Star Game as a senior. McNeill was also a standout track star finishing 2nd in the state in the shot put.^[1]

College career

McNeill played college football for the Auburn Tigers.^[2] He started 28 total games in his four years as a lineman. He blocked for future NFL running backs Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown, and allowed only one quarterback sack as a guard. In 2004, he was selected to the Coaches First-team All-SEC, the AP First-team All-SEC, and helped lead the Auburn Tigers to an undefeated 13-0 record. While at Auburn, McNeill was a 2-time All-American and named to The Sporting News All-Decade team.^[3]

NFL career

2006 NFL Draft

McNeill was selected with the 50th overall pick in the 2nd round of the 2006 NFL Draft. McNeill worked out at D1 Sports Training in Nashville, TN prior to the NFL Draft. Despite a stellar college career at Auburn, many teams were worried about McNeill's injury history; namely having spinal stenosis or a narrowing of the spine and the fact that he did not do much weight training at Auburn. McNeill was unable to lift during pre-draft workouts due to a fractured right hand. Despite these obstacles, McNeill still impressed with his physically imposing size and 35⅜" arms.^[4]

Pre-draft measureables
Ht	Wt	40-yard dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20 ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6-7 *	337 *	5.07 *	1.76 *	2.99 *	5.04 *	8.19 *	31 in *	8′2″ *	x	23 *

(* represents NFL Combine ** represents Auburn Pro Day)

San Diego Chargers

Despite being the seventh lineman selected in the 2006 draft and playing the majority of the season with broken hands, McNeill was voted a first alternate to the 2007 Pro Bowl and made the team after an injury to starter Willie Anderson. Commentator Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com referred to him late in the 2006 season as "one of the elite left tackles" in the NFL.^[5] A rookie starter at left tackle for the entire season, McNeill was a crucial component of the offensive line that blocked for running back LaDainian Tomlinson as he established a number of single season offensive records.^[6] The majority of Tomlinson's long gains came from running behind the left side of the offensive line, behind McNeill and guard Kris Dielman. McNeill was not called for a holding penalty in the 2006 season.

McNeill finished 4th in voting for the 2007 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year,^[7] a remarkable finish for an offensive lineman. He was named the Offensive Rookie of the Month for September.

McNeill was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl after Jonathan Ogden pulled out.

McNeill ended his hold out and reported to the San Diego Chargers on September 25. McNeill will not be eligible to play until week 6 versus St. Louis Rams.

A few days after ending his hold out, McNeill and the Chargers agreed to a 6 year, $48.895 million deal.^[8]

References

1. ^ Chargers.com - Team » Roster » #73 Marcus McNeill | OT
2. ^ "2005 Tigers (pp. 35-71)" (PDF). 2005 Auburn Football Media Guide. Auburn University. 2005. http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/aub/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/fbmg_players_072805.pdf. Retrieved 2006-05-01. 
3. ^ "Marcus McNeill named to college football All-Decade team". AuburnUndercover. 2009. http://auburnundercover.com/news/articles/2009/9/24/marcus-mcneill-named-to-college-football-all-decade-team. Retrieved 2009-09-26. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ Packers.com » News » Stories » April 21, 2006: Gil Brandt's Analysis By Position: Offensive Line
5. ^ "McNeill key to Chargers' offensive success". ESPN.com. 2006. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=2706011. Retrieved 2006-12-23. 
6. ^ "Win Yields Title, Date With History". San Diego Chargers. 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-01-01. http://web.archive.org/web/20070101213000/http://chargers.com/news/headlines/win-yields-title.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-05. 
7. ^ "Young runs away with offensive rookie award". ESPN.com. 2006. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2718595.. Retrieved 2007-01-05. 
8. ^ "Chargers' McNeill agrees to 5-year extension". Associated Press. 2010. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gvDQ04kosEqo5rEgnxRm6lR65c_gD9IR6OQO0?docId=D9IR6OQO0. 

External links

• Marcus McNeill on Twitter
• AuburnTigers.com player bio
• San Diego Chargers bio

Persondata
Name	Macneill, Marcus
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 16, 1983
Place of birth	Chicago, Illinois
Date of death
Place of death