- Larry Izzo
Infobox NFLactive
name=Larry Izzo
currentteam=New England Patriots
currentnumber=53
currentposition=Linebacker
birthdate=birth date and age|1974|9|26
birthplace=Fort Belvoir, Virginia
heightft=5
heightin=10
weight=228
debutyear=1996
debutteam=Miami Dolphins
college=Rice
undraftedyear=1996
pastteams=
*Miami Dolphins (1996 - 2000)
*New England Patriots (2001 - present)
status=Active
highlights=
* 3xSuper Bowl champion (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX)
* 3xPro Bowl selection (2000, 2002, 2004)
nfl=IZZ474519Lawrence Alexander Izzo (pronEng|IS-o) (born
September 26 ,1974 inFort Belvoir, Virginia ) is anAmerican football linebacker for theNew England Patriots of theNational Football League . He was originally signed by theMiami Dolphins as anundrafted free agent in 1996. He playedcollege football at Rice.High school career
Izzo attended Broad Run High School in Ashburn, Virginia and then McCullough High School in
The Woodlands, Texas , and won varsity letters in football as a running back/safety, and in baseball. Following his senior year, Izzo was selected as the Houston Chronicle's Two-Way Player of the Year, and was a finalist for the Houston Touchdown Club's Player of the Year.College career
Larry Izzo attended
Rice University where he wore the number 25, and was a four-yearletterman and standout and finished fourth on the school's all-time tackles list with 301 tackles, setting a school-record 46 tackles for losses, and a season record of 18 tackles for losses in 1995. [ [http://www.rice.edu/projects/thresher/issues/84/960830/Sports/Story05.html The Thresher Online: Izzo gets along with Dolphins swimmingly (August 30, 1996)] ] In 1994 an underdog Rice beat top 10 ranked Texas on national television by the score 19-17, as Izzo was selected player of the game with two key sacks (sharing the honor with teammateN. D. Kalu ). It was the first time in over 30 years that Rice had beaten its in-state rival, and would help Rice win a share of the Southwest Conference title for the first time in 37 years. As a senior Izzo was voted defensive team captain and earned consensus All-Southwest Conference honors after registering 121 tackles, he won the George Martin Award as the team’s MVP and won the Jess Neely Defense Award as the team’s top linebacker. Was also selected as an Honorable MentionAll-America n.National Football League career
Izzo went undrafted in the
1996 NFL Draft and was later signed by theMiami Dolphins as afree agent in April 1996. He first came to local notoriety based on a sound byte that circulated during the pre-season of Izzo's rookie year, where Miami coach Jimmy Johnson told the team that only two players were guaranteed to make the team: one wasDan Marino and the other the then-unknown Izzo. [ [http://www.rice.edu/projects/thresher/issues/84/960830/Sports/Story05.html The Thresher Online: Izzo gets along with Dolphins swimmingly (August 30, 1996)] ] He spent most of his time onspecial teams , and was rewarded with his first trip to thePro Bowl in 2000. He later signed with New England in 2001, and played on all three of the Patriots'Super Bowl championship teams (2001, 2003 and 2004). He also had two more trips to Hawaii as the AFC special team representative in 2002, and 2004.Accomplishments
* Through 2006, Larry Izzo has tallied more special teams tackles than any other active NFL player (229 in 156 career games). Additionally, Izzo has 21 special teams tackles in 18 career postseason games. While the NFL doesn't publish official statistics on special teams tackles, that should rank Izzo second in NFL history behind Buffalo's
Mark Pike (283). He ranks ahead of former Dallas CowboyBill Bates (216) and former BillSteve Tasker (186).
* Izzo has appeared in 85 straight games (including postseason) for the Patriots, dating back to the 2002 season.
* Izzo recorded his highest special teams tackle total in 1999 when he led the Dolphins with 33 special teams stops. In 2003, he tallied 31 special teams tackles to lead the Patriots.
* Izzo was Named to Football Digest’s 1999 All-Tough Guy Team.
* Izzo was named to ESPN's John Clayton's "The Best Team Money Can Buy" roster in July, 2006 as a back-up linebacker and special teams coverage player. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=2511045 ESPN - Talented roster includes 21 Pro Bowlers - NFL] ]
* Izzo was theMiami Dolphins recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award in 1998.
* Graduated fromRice University with a degree in business administration.
* In 2007, Izzo was selected by his teammates as special teams captain of the New England Patriots for the 7th consecutive season.Community activism
* For his charity work and community activism, Izzo was honored by
Bob Kraft and the New England Patriots Organization with the Ron Burton Community Service Award at the team’s annual Kickoff Gala in August 2008. To date, his Larryoke events have raised over $600,000 for U.S. Military veterans and their families. [ [http://www.patriots.com/news/index.cfm?ac=latestnewsdetail&pid=33527&pcid=41] ]
* Izzo represented the NFL during a 2005 "The USO and NFL Salute the Troops Tour," which visited soldiers inAfghanistan andIraq . During the tour, Izzo andWarrick Dunn officially opened the USOPat Tillman Center at Bagram, a center that serves thousands of troops transitioning to and fromKuwait ,Qatar , Iraq andEurope . [ [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=31503 DefenseLink News Article: Pat Tillman USO Center Opens in Afghanistan] ]
* In October 2006, Izzo hosted a charity event in Boston "Karaoke with Larry Izzo and the New England Patriots." The 2nd annual event raised over $200,000 for charities which included The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Operation Ensuring Christmas, the USO of New England, and Fallen Patriot. Participating at the fundraiser over the past two years were celebrities and athletes includingMark Cuban ,Tom Brady , and other members of theNew England Patriots . [ [http://larryizzosalutetothetroops.com Larry Izzo Salute to the Troops] ]
* While at the 2002 Pro Bowl, Izzo visited 8,500 crew members aboard the U.S.S. Carl Vinson at Pearl Harbor, and the ship left the next day to participate in Operation Enduring Freedom. [ [http://uso.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=press_releases&item=11 USO | MediaRoom - Press Releases] ]
* As of 2008 Izzo hosts an interview segment on theNESN dating showSox Appeal . [http://www.nesn.com/content/about/story.aspx?content_id=c36f8378-690e-446b-9853-521443bf7543]Notes
External links
* [http://www.nfl.com/players/larryizzo/profile?id=IZZ474619/ Larry Izzo's Official Statistics from NFL.com]
* [http://www.patriots.com/team/index.cfm?ac=playerbio&bio=9987/ New England Patriots Official Player webpage for Larry Izzo]
* [http://www.larryizzosalutetothetroops.com/ Charitable Website promoting "Salute to the Troops"]
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