Lawrence Vickers

Infobox NFLactive


primarytext=
secondarytext=
currentteam=Cleveland Browns
|width=
Caption=
country=USA
currentnumber=47
currentpositionplain=Fullback
birthdate=birth date and age|1983|05|8
birthplace=Beaumont, Texas
heightft=6
heightin=0
weight=250
debutyear=2006
debutteam=Cleveland Browns
college=Colorado
draftyear=2006
draftround=6
draftpick=180
pastteams=
* Cleveland Browns (2006-present)
nfl=VIC642060

Lawrence Vickers (born May 8, 1983 in Beaumont, Texas) is an is an American football player who currently plays fullback for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League.

High School career

SuperPrep named him to its all-southwest team, while Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 11 fullback in the nation. He earned first-team all-state and first-team all-North Forest League while also being named to the first-team all-Greater Houston area. Earning offensive MVP of his district during 2001, he was named to first-team all-district all four years of his prep career. He was also named to the first-teams of the league and district his sophomore and junior years. Playing running back on the varsity squad throughout all four seasons, he finished his career with 4,610 yards rushing and 70 touchdowns on 345 carries (a gaudy 13.4 yards per carry). He also caught 72 passes for 1,950 yards and 24 touchdowns, averaging 27.1 yards per catch. As a senior, he ran for 1,600 yards on 151 attempts, scoring 21 touchdowns with a long of 85 yards. He also caught the second most passes of his career (17) and complied 500 receiving yards and four touchdowns. As a junior, he ran for 960 yards and scored 17 touchdowns on just 89 carries. During his sophomore season he averaged 15.8 yards a carry, rushing 70 times on the season for 1,110 yards and 22 touchdowns. As a freshman, the only year he played defense, he started in every game and racked up 75 total tackles at free safety, causing 10 fumbles and intercepting seven passes. His top games included a 21-0 win over Westbury High School his senior year, when he rushed for 248 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. In a 50-47 loss to Jasper High School in the semifinals of the state playoffs his senior year, he rushed 10 times for 192 yards and two touchdowns and had seven catches for 200 yards and two more scores. Under coach Ron Holmes, Forest Brook High School went 12-1 his senior year and advanced to the semifinals of the state playoffs; FBHS was 11-1 his junior season (losing in the second round of the playoffs), and was 7-4 his sophomore year. He also lettered three years in basketball, averaging 20 points a game with 10 rebounds, three steals and three blocks a game as a senior, and lettered twice in track, competing in the high jump (career best of 6-7).

College career

He played for the Buffaloes in college. Vickers saw limited playing time as a true freshman in 2002. He saw action in 11 games, including the Alamo Bowl (no starts), seeing time on both offense (at fullback) and on special teams; he was a regular at the end of the year in CU’s Stack-I formation (two fullbacks). He had seven rushes for 25 yards on the year, and also caught one pass for seven yards. In 2003, he played in 11 games on both offense and special teams, started six of those games at FB and finished with 100 yards on 28 carries with one TD. He also finished with 15 receptions for 123 yards and one TD. As a junior in 2004, Vickers started seven games and finished with 63 carries for 252 yards and two TD's, and 28 receptions for 290 yards. He remained the Buffs No. 1 FB and backup RB as a senior in 2005, when he finished with 258 yards and nine TDs on 73 carries and 152 yards and two TDs on 26 receptions. He was an Ethnic Studies/Sociology major.

NFL career

Vickers was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 6th round, pick 11 (180th overall) of the 2006 NFL draft. Serving as the team's backup fullback behind Terrelle Smith, Vickers started one game, earning three rushing attempts for two yards and catching six passes for 60 yards. He saw significant time on special teams, having five kick returns for 84 yards. He made his NFL debut versus the New Orleans Saints on September 10.

Vickers took over the fullback position in 2007 and played in every game with 14 starts. He was Jamal Lewis' primary lead blocker, helping him rush for 1,304 yards and 9 touchdowns. He also had 15 carries for 43 yards and 13 receptions for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns. For his efforts, Vickers was named as a second alternate for the 2008 Pro Bowl at fullback.cite web|author=Jackson, Zac|date=2007-12-18|title=Edwards, Cribbs headed to Hawaii|url=http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/article.php?id=7991|publisher=clevelandbrowns.com|accessdate=2007-12-19]

References