Byron Leftwich

Infobox NFLactive
name=Byron Leftwich

---

width=250
caption=Leftwich at an Atlanta Hawks game in May 2008
currentteam=Pittsburgh Steelers
currentnumber=4
currentpositionplain=Quarterback
birthdate=birth date and age|1980|1|14
birthplace=Washington, D.C.
heightft=6
heightin=5
weight=250
debutyear=2003
debutteam=Jacksonville Jaguars
college=Marshall
draftyear=2003
draftround=1
draftpick=7
pastteams=
* Jacksonville Jaguars (2003-2006)
* Atlanta Falcons (2007)
* Pittsburgh Steelers (2008-present)
status=Active
highlights=
* No notable achievements
statweek=17
statseason=2007
statlabel1=TD-INT
statvalue1=52-38
statlabel2=Passing yards
statvalue2=9,321
statlabel3=QB Rating
statvalue3=79.7
nfl=LEF677964

Byron Anton Leftwich (Born January 14, 1980 in Washington, D.C.) is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars seventh overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Marshall.

Leftwich has also played for the Atlanta Falcons.

Early years

Leftwich attended H.D. Woodson High School in Washington, D.C. and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. He garnered an honorable mention on the Washington Post's All-Met football team in 1997 as a senior. He was also first team All-DCIAA East in basketball his senior year. Nicknamed "SqueE" for his loud, casual footwear.

College career

Leftwich starred at Marshall University in West Virginia. He gained notability after quarterbacking a 64-61 overtime victory over East Carolina University in the 2001 GMAC Bowl (in which he took on future teammate David Garrard). He is also remembered for being carried by linemen Steve Sciullo and Steve Perretta, after breaking his shin and returning to the game, down the field on multiple series as he rallied his team to a 17 point comeback against Akron in November 2002. The image of Leftwich being carried after a completion has become iconic for compassion teammates show. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/features/the100?index=100 ESPN.com - NCAA College Football - The 100 ] ] Leftwich, along with fellow Marshall Alumni Chad Pennington and Randy Moss is also credited for helping the Mid-American Conference (MAC) gain more national attention (Marshall has since joined Conference USA).

He was the MVP of the 2000 Motor City Bowl.

Leftwich, for his career at Marshall completed 939 of 1,442 passes (65.1 percent) for 11,903 yards, 89 touchdowns and only 28 interceptions. He amassed 12,090 yards of total offense on 1,632 plays, ranking second on the school’s all-time record lists behind Chad Pennington.

Professional career

2003 NFL Draft

At the 2003 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens agreed to a trade to move the Ravens into position to take Leftwich with Minnesota's 7th overall selection. However, one of the teams had second thoughts at the last minute and the Vikings missed the allotted time for their pick. As a result, they defaulted the selection and were dropped to 9th. The Jaguars, originally supposed to draft 8th, moved up and took Leftwich with the 7th overall pick.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Leftwich took over as the Jaguars starting quarterback in game four of his rookie year after Mark Brunell was injured in the previous week's matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.

For the first 11 games of the 2005 regular season, Leftwich was developing into the quarterback the Jaguars believed he would become when they picked him in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He obtained a passer rating of 89.3, ninth-best in the NFL, and a 3:1 touchdown:interception ratio (15:5).

However in the regular season against the Arizona Cardinals, Leftwich suffered a broken ankle after being sacked by Cardinals' safety Adrian Wilson on the first play of the game. Leftwich missed the remaining five games of the regular season. He returned against the New England Patriots in the AFC Wild Card round of the playoffs. The Patriots won 28-3.

Leftwich entered his fourth NFL season as the Jaguars starting quarterback, but without veteran wide receiver Jimmy Smith, who retired suddenly in May 2006. Leftwich led the Jaguars to victories on national television in consecutive weeks against the favored Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers to begin the 2006 season. After this win streak, Leftwich suffered an ankle injury 5 games into the season. In November, Leftwich had surgery on the injured ankle, which forced the Jaguars to move him to their injured reserves, effectively ending his season. In February 2007, the Jaguars decided to formally name Leftwich the team's starter, favoring him instead of David Garrard or Quinn Gray. The decision was speculated to be due to the infusion of a heavy play-action offense for the 2007 season, which suits Leftwich's passing abilities greatly. After a highly successful training camp but disappointing pre-season during which his backup excelled, Leftwich was displaced from the Jaguars roster before the first game of 2007. Garrard was named the starting quarterback for the Jaguars on August 31, 2007, with the team stating that Leftwich would be either cut or traded. [cite web|url=http://jaguars.com/News/Article.aspx?id=6273|title=Jags trying to move Leftwich|first=Vic|last=Ketchman|publisher=Jacksonville Jaguars|date=2007-08-31|accessdate=2007-09-01] Leftwich was cut on September 1, 2007, making him a free agent.

Atlanta Falcons

On September 17, Leftwich was flown out to Atlanta to meet with Atlanta Falcons officials, citing a possible signing with the team. [cite web|url=http://jaguars.com/News/Article.aspx?id=6280|title=Jaguars Trim Roster to 53|publisher=Jacksonville Jaguars|date=2007-09-01|accessdate=2007-09-02] On September 18, Leftwich signed a two year deal with the Falcons with escalators attached that could make the deal worth up to $7 million.

Leftwich entered the season as a backup to starter Joey Harrington. After replacing Harrington late in Week 5, Leftwich got the start in Week 7 and played very well, before having to leave the game with an ankle sprain. He got the start again in Week 11 after returning from his injury. Harrington regained his starting position and Leftwich did not play again. On February 15, 2008, he was released by the Falcons. He worked out for the Tennessee Titans in July.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On August 10, 2008, Leftwich was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers to a one-year deal after Pittsburgh's backup Charlie Batch was injured in a pre-season game. [cite news |title= Steelers sign Leftwich, Culpepper as QB fill-ins |url= http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=444019|work= NFL|publisher= Sporting News|date= 2008-08-09|accessdate=2008-08-10] [cite news |title= Steelers looking at QB Leftwich|url= http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=txsteelersleftwich&prov=st&type=lgns|work= NFL|publisher= Yahoo! Sports|date= 2008-08-09|accessdate=2008-08-09] The contract was worth $645,000 and included a $40,000 signing bonus.Fact|date=September 2008 Leftwich will start the 2008 season as the back-up quarterback to Ben Roethlisberger. "I'm the guy sitting in the bullpen," he stated prior to the first game of the 2008 season, "if something were to happen, I have to go out there." [cite news |first= Ed|last= Bouchette|title= Leftwich embraces new role as Steelers' No. 2 quarterback|url= http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08246/908702-66.stm|publisher= Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date= 2008-09-02|accessdate=2008-09-02] He played in the Steelers season opener, and went 0 of 4. His only other action since then was against the Eagles, where he went 4 of 7 for 60 yards.

In the media

*In college he starred in MTV's True Life : I'm a Heisman Trophy candidate.
*During the 2003 season, Leftwich was featured on "Hey Rookie, Welcome to the NFL", an ESPN documentary profiling the life of a few select NFL first-year players.
*Leftwich appeared on "Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith" hosted by Stephen A. Smith on ESPN in the spring of 2006.
*A 1967 Lincoln Continental owned by Leftwich was featured on an episode of the show Unique Whips on Speed Channel.
*Leftwich and fellow NFL player Michael Strahan were interviewed by NBC during coverage of the Kentucky Derby in May 2007.
*Leftwich is a frequent guest on the NFL Total Access, the flagship show of the NFL Network. On multiple appearances, host Rich Eisen has drawn comparisons between Leftwich and actor Gary Coleman.
*In the ending clip montage of the 2006 film We Are Marshall, Leftwich can be seen throwing a deep pass and being carried down field by two of his offensive linemen.

References

External links

* [http://news.steelers.com/team/player/93240/ Pittsburgh Steelers bio]

Persondata
NAME= Leftwich, Byron
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Leftwich, Byron Anton
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American football quarterback
DATE OF BIRTH=1980-1-14
PLACE OF BIRTH=Washington, D.C.
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=