Eddie Royal

Infobox NFLactive
name=Eddie Royal

---

caption=Eddie Royal during his tenure at Virginia Tech.
currentteam=Denver Broncos
currentnumber=19
currentposition=Wide receiver
|birthdate=birth date and age|1986|5|21
birthplace=Alexandria, Virginia
heightft=5
heightin=10
weight=185
debutyear= 2008
debutteam=Denver Broncos
college=Virginia Tech
draftyear=2008
draftround=2
draftpick=42
pastteams=
* Denver Broncos (2008-present)
status=Active
highlights=
*Awards and honors
statweek=5
statseason=2008
statlabel1=Receptions
statvalue1=30
statlabel2=Receiving Yards
statvalue2=321
statlabel3=Receiving TDs
statvalue3=2
nfl=ROY461040

William Edward "Eddie" Royal (born May 21, 1986 in Alexandria, Virginia) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies.

High school career

Royal first attended Paul VI Catholic High School and South Lakes High School before going to Westfield High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, where he played for most of his high school football career.http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=498&contentID=8656] He received All-America honors from PrepStar and SuperPrep (who named Royal the top college player in the state of Virginia). While a senior at Westfield High School, Royal, along with future Virginia Tech teammate Sean Glennon and future Penn State running back Evan Royster, led his team to an undefeated season record (14-0) and a 36-0 victory against Lake Braddock Secondary School on September 13, 2003, in the Virginia Division 6 AAA State Championship.

College career

Royal played college football at Virginia Tech, where he finished first in career all-purpose yards in school history (4,686), fourth in career receptions (119), fifth in receiving touchdowns (12) and sixth in receiving yards (1,778). He was also the Atlantic Coast Conference's (ACC) all-time leader in punt return yards (1,296). Royal received second-team All-ACC honors in 2006 and first-team All-ACC honors in 2007.

NFL career

Rookie season

Royal was drafted in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. [ [http://broncotalk.net/2008/04/denver-broncos-select-wr-eddie-royal-in-2nd-round/ Denver Broncos Select WR Eddie Royal in 2nd Round] BroncoTalk. Retrieved on 2008-04-27]

Royal started and played in his first NFL regular season game on September 8, 2008, in a 41-14 road win over the Oakland Raiders. He caught nine balls for 146 yards and one touchdown in his debut; Royal's 146 receiving yards were the most by any wide receiver in the first week of the 2008 NFL regular season. [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=280908013] His nine receptions were the most by a rookie making his debut for the Broncos. Royal's first career touchdown catch came in the first quarter of the game on a 26-yard pass from Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler. Royal's opening week performance yielded voters on NFL.com to select him as the Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week out of five finalists. [ [http://www.nfl.com/partner?partnerType=rookies&season=2008&seasonType=REG&week=1 Royal named Week 1 Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week] ]

In Royal's second game of the season, he caught five passes for 37 yards and one touchdown, as part of a 39-38 Broncos home win over the San Diego Chargers. [http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=280914007] His touchdown catch came with 24 seconds left in the game on a 4th and 4 from San Diego's four-yard-line. The catch made the score 38-37 Chargers; however, the Broncos subsequently went for a two-point conversion, in which Royal caught a pass from Cutler, thus, giving the Broncos a one-point victory.

Personal

Royal is the younger brother of Lexington Horsemen wide receiver/defensive back, Chris Royal.

Awards and honors

* Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week - Week one (2008)
* First-team All-ACC (2007)
* Second-team All-ACC (2006)

References

External links

* [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=11276 Player bio] on ESPN.com
* [http://www.nfl.com/players/eddieroyal/profile?id=ROY461040 Player bio on NFL.com]
* [http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=498&contentID=8656 Player bio on Denver Broncos official website]
* [http://www.hokiesports.com/football/players/2007/royal.html Virginia Tech Hokies bio]