- Danny Amendola
-
Danny Amendola 
At a game in Denver in November, 2010No. 16 St. Louis Rams Wide receiver Personal information Date of birth: November 2, 1985 Place of birth: The Woodlands, Texas Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight: 183 lb (83 kg) Career information College: Texas Tech Undrafted in 2008 Debuted in 2009 for the St. Louis Rams Career history - Dallas Cowboys (2008)*
- Philadelphia Eagles (2009)*
- St. Louis Rams (2009–present)
- *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Active Career highlights and awards - First-team All-Big 12 (2004)
- Honorable mention All-Big 12 (2005)
- Second-team All-Big 12 (2007)
Career NFL statistics as of 2010 Receiving yards 1,060 Average 8.0 Receiving touchdowns 4 Stats at NFL.com Daniel Amendola (born November 2, 1985) is an American football wide receiver for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Texas Tech.
Amendola has also been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Contents
Early years
Amendola attended The Woodlands High School in The Woodlands, Texas, under coach Weldon Willig.[1] He completed his high school career by leading his team to its first ever Texas State championship game. Although they lost to North Shore High School[disambiguation needed
], Amendola finished his senior season with 1,045 receiving yards, 129 rushing yards, and 8 touchdowns.[2]College career
Amendola finished his college career at Texas Tech with 204 receptions for 2,246 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also returned 116 punts for 1,283 yards and one TD, an 11.06 yards per return average ranking Amendola third all-time in school history in punt returns and yardage, behind only Wes Welker and Tyrone Thurman.[3] Amendola's best year was his senior year, in which he was overshadowed by teammate Michael Crabtree, but still recorded 109 catches for 1,245 yards and 6 TDs.[4]
During the 2005 season, Amendola made two memorable plays that led to Red Raider victories. The first was late in the 2005 game against Oklahoma. Tech was trailing. On fourth down, a Cody Hodges pass attempt was tipped, and Amendola made a leaping catch in traffic. He was tackled immediately and appeared to have been stopped just short of a first down. However, the spot was reviewed by the replay officials and the final spot of the ball resulted in a first down. The drive was kept alive and resulted in yet another disputed call—Taurean Henderson's stretch over the goal line on the final play of regulation, which gave the Red Raiders the victory over the Sooners.[5]
Another game-changing play came when Amendola recovered the fumble from an intercepted pass during the final drive of the 2005 game against Nebraska. Tech needed a touchdown to win. Tech quarterback Cody Hodges' pass was tipped and intercepted. Instead of taking a knee to seal the victory, the Nebraska defender decided to run with the ball and had it stripped. Amendola dove for the loose ball and recovered it.[6] Tech retained possession, resulting in a game-winning touchdown pass from Hodges to Joel Filani on fourth down with under 30 seconds remaining.[7]
Amendola graduated with a major in Communication Studies.[1]
Professional career
Pre-draft
Pre-draft measureables Height Weight 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20 ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP Wonderlic 5-10 * 185 * 4.58 ** 1.51 * 2.65 * 4.25 ** 6.81 ** 31½" * 8'07" * 13 * 27 * *At NFL Combine **At Texas Tech Pro Day Amendola has drawn numerous comparisons, including from Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach, to former Tech receiver Wes Welker, now with the New England Patriots,[8][9] as the two have similar builds (Welker is 5'9", 185 lb, while Amendola is 5'11", 183 lb) and played the same positions at Tech (slot receiver and punt returner).[10]
Dallas Cowboys
Amendola signed as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys on April 27, 2008.[11] His attempt to make it pro was featured on the HBO special Hard Knocks.[12] Amendola was cut by the Cowboys on August 30 and re-signed to the team's practice squad after clearing waivers.[13] [14][15] He spent the entire 2008 regular season on the team's practice squad.
Philadelphia Eagles
Amendola in August 2009.
After his contract expired with the Dallas Cowboys, Amendola was signed to the practice squad of the Philadelphia Eagles on January 6, 2009.[16] Following the season, Amendola was re-signed to a future contract on January 19, 2009. He was waived during final cuts on September 5, 2009. He was re-signed to their practice squad on September 6, 2009.
St. Louis Rams
Amendola was signed off the Eagles' practice squad by the St. Louis Rams on September 22, 2009. In 2009, he caught 43 passes for 326 yards and one touchdown as a slot receiver. He returned 66 kicks for 1,618 yards and 31 punts returns for 360 yards. He started in six games in 2010, an increase from his two starts in 2009. With one week left to play, he has career-highs in receptions (83) which is 8th in the NFL, receiving yards (680) and receiving touchdowns (three). Amendola is currently 2nd in the NFL in third-down receptions with 29. He has seven carries for 81 yards for a 11.6 yards per carry average. In 2010 Amendola lead the NFL in all-purpose yards with 2,364.[17]
On 6 October 2011, Amendola was placed on Injured Reserve after needing season-ending triceps surgery.
References
- ^ a b "Danny Amendola: Football". Texas Tech Athletics. http://texastech.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/amendola_danny00.html. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
- ^ "2003 High School Statistics". highlanderfootball.net. 2008-08-06. http://www.highlanderfootball.net/history/pastseasons/2003stats.pdf.
- ^ "Player Bio: Danny Amendola". http://texastech.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/amendola_danny00.html. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ "Danny Amendola Statistics". Yahoo! Sports. http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/players/115978. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
- ^ "Calls don't bother Tech coach". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. http://www.redraiders.com/stories/112105/foo_112105016.shtml. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
- ^ "Playing from heart has duel meaning for Hodges family". The Daily Toreador. http://media.www.dailytoreador.com/media/storage/paper870/news/2005/10/13/Sports/Playing.From.Heart.Has.Duel.Meaning.For.Hodges.Family-1281713.shtml. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
- ^ "Tech leaves 'Huskers shell-shucked". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. http://www.redraiders.com/stories/100905/foo_100905021.shtml. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
- ^ Welker provides hope for Dallas Cowboys' free-agent WR
- ^ "Scouting Combine 2008: Danny Amendola". NFL.com. http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/danny-amendola?id=2649. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
- ^ "Amendola Leads the ‘Smallish’ Slot Receiver Brigade". USA Football. http://www.usafootball.com/articles/displayArticle/6065/5414. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
- ^ "Tech's Amendola on board". Dallas Morning News. 2008-04-27. http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/04/techs-amendola-on-board.html.
- ^ Horn, Barry. "Amendola takes lead role for Dallas Cowboys in Hard Knocks". The Dallas Morning News. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/football/cowboys/stories/081308dnspocowknocks.34a674b.html. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
- ^ Spagnola, Mickey (2008-08-30). "Here Are The Cuts: Cowboys Trim Roster To 53 By Cutting 21". http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/news.cfm?id=15A8E429-D13B-0466-71E5F3F6269AAB96. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ "Cowboys Sign 7 To Practice Squad; QB News". True Blue: Writer's Block. 2008-08-31. http://www.truebluefanclub.com/blogs/writers_block.cfm?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a6f720d98-095f-4c2b-9bbb-88639ea813cbPost%3a66bb27bf-2b2a-4541-a071-9d2dd3588afd&sid=sitelife.truebluefanclub.com.
- ^ "Davis Agrees To Terms; Practice Squad In Place". DallasCowboys.com. 2008-08-31. http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/news.cfm?id=1B31BE36-A13C-4A8A-0910B151231BB873.
- ^ MacMahon, Tim (2009-01-06). "At least one Cowboy made the playoffs". The Dallas Morning News. http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/01/at-least-one-cowboy-made-the-playoffs.html.
- ^ "Pro Football reference". http://www.pro-football-reference.com. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/all_purpose_yds_year_by_year.htm.
External links
Categories:- 1985 births
- Living people
- Players of American football from Texas
- American football return specialists
- American football wide receivers
- Texas Tech Red Raiders football players
- Undrafted National Football League players
- Dallas Cowboys players
- Philadelphia Eagles players
- St. Louis Rams players
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