JaMarcus Russell
| name=JaMarcus Russell | |
| currentteam | Oakland Raiders |
|---|---|
| currentnumber | 2 |
| currentposition | Quarterback |
| image | Replace this image male.svg |
| birthdate | |
| birthplace | Mobile, Alabama | heightft=6 | heightin=6 |
| weight | 255 |
| debutyear | 2007 |
| debutteam | Oakland Raiders |
| highlights |
* [[JaMarcus Russell#Awards and honors|College awards and honors]]
|college=[[LSU Tigers football|Louisiana State]]
|draftyear=2007
|draftround=1
|draftpick=1
|pastteams=
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| nfl | RUS539462 |
1985 in Mobile, Alabama) is an American football quarterback who plays for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Raiders with the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football for Louisiana State University.
As a consensus top five national pro-style quarterback in every major recruiting publication, Russell had numerous scholarship offers. He chose Louisiana State University over Florida State on National Signing Day.
In the Capital One Bowl against Iowa, Russell came off the bench to lead LSU to two fourth-quarter scoring drives, allowing the Tigers to erase a 12 point deficit. However, on the final play of the game, Iowa quarterback Drew Tate completed a touchdown pass to Warren Holloway to beat the Tigers 30-25.
Russell led the Tigers to two dramatic come-from-behind wins in the regular season. The first came on a 39 yard pass to Early Doucet on 4th down in the final minute of the game, as the Tigers defeated Arizona State 35-31. Later in the season, LSU defeated a then-undefeated Alabama team 16-13 when Russell completed a 14 yard touchdown to Dwayne Bowe in overtime for the win.
Russell injured his shoulder in a loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, and missed the team's bowl game. Backup quarterback Matt Flynn replaced Russell for the Peach Bowl against Miami, and the Tigers won the game 40-3.
Russell also received some acclaim for his assistance efforts after Hurricane Katrina. After the hurricane and flood, Russell is reported to have housed around 20 people in his apartment, including legendary New Orleans singer Fats Domino, who had been rescued by boat during the flood.http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_5132923
A memorable performance of the 2006 season came against Tennessee. In spite of throwing three interceptions (including one returned for a touchdown), he led LSU on a come-from-behind, 15-play, 80-yard drive in the final minutes of the game. The drive ended with a four-yard touchdown pass to Early Doucet with less than 10 seconds left in the game, and the Tigers defeated Tennessee 28-24. Earlier in the drive, Russell and Doucet also connected for a first down on a 4th and 8 situation. In the final game of his junior year, the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Russell accumulated over 350 yards of passing and rushing and scored 3 TDs, leading to the Tigers 41-14 win over Notre Dame. He was also named the Sugar Bowl's MVP.
At the end of the 2006 season, Russell was named to the all-SEC first team, ahead of Kentucky's Andre Woodson and Florida's Chris Leak. In addition, he was named an honorable mention All-American by Sports Illustrated.
After the 2007 NFL Draft, The Oakland Raiders and JaMarcus Russell's agents could not come to an agreement on a contract. JaMarcus Russell held out of training camp and did not begin with the Raiders until the latter weeks of the NFL preseason.
Russell was also one of four LSU players taken in the first round, along with Safety Laron Landry, and wide receivers Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis
Head Coach Lane Kiffin has been cautious to not put Russell into game situations in which he has little chance of being successful. For this reason he did not play in the road game in Green Bay due to cold weather and a hostile crowd. Lane Kiffin announced during the week before the game that Russell would play for the first time away from Oakland when the Raiders were to play the Jacksonville Jaguars on December 23, 2007. Though he did not start the game, saw the most playing time he has had so far.
Russell threw his first career interception in the second quarter of the game against the Jaguars on a third and long, although the return was fumbled and the resulting series ended in a field goal. He went on to throw 2 more interceptions before completing his first NFL touchdown pass to Zack Miller in a 49-11 losing effort. A completed 2 point conversion was his final pass on the game. He finished the game 7 of 23 for 86 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. He also lost a fumble in the game.
His first NFL start came when the Oakland Raiders hosted the San Diego Chargers. On the very first play from scrimmage, JaMarcus threw an INT which was a screen pass intended for Dominic Rhodes. It was grabbed by Chargers Defensive Lineman Igor Olshansky. He seemed to settle down and completed 73% of his passes for the rest of the game, finishing 23/31, 234, a TD (34 yard pass to Jerry Porter) and and INT.
JaMarcus finished his rookie season 36/66, 373, 2 TD's and 4 INT's. He has since been named the starter for the 2008-2009 NFL Season.
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Early years :
Russell played at Lillie B. Williamson High School in Mobile, Alabama where he was coached by Bobby Parrish. Russell became the all-time passing leader in Alabama high school history as he threw for 10,744 yards in his career, eclipsing the mark set by former University of Alabama and current Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle. He also is ranked as the fifth all-time career rusher in Alabama high school history with 7,362 yards. As a senior in 2003, Russell connected on 219-of-372 passes for 3,332 yards and 22 touchdowns. He was named Alabama's Mr. Football and SuperPrep Dixie Offensive Player of the Year. He was named also to the Parade All-America Team. Further he was nominated to the SuperPrep All-America Team, FSN South's Countdown to Signing Day All-South First Team, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super Southern 100 and the Orlando Sentinel All-Southern team.As a consensus top five national pro-style quarterback in every major recruiting publication, Russell had numerous scholarship offers. He chose Louisiana State University over Florida State on National Signing Day.
College career :
Freshman season :
Russell was redshirted during the 2003 season, when quarterback Matt Mauck led LSU to the BCS National Championship. In 2004, he split time with senior quarterback Marcus Randall, playing in 11 games and starting 4. He completed just over 50 percent of his passes for 1,053 yards, throwing for 9 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.In the Capital One Bowl against Iowa, Russell came off the bench to lead LSU to two fourth-quarter scoring drives, allowing the Tigers to erase a 12 point deficit. However, on the final play of the game, Iowa quarterback Drew Tate completed a touchdown pass to Warren Holloway to beat the Tigers 30-25.
Sophomore season :
By the fall 2005 season, Russell was the undisputed starting quarterback for LSU. He led LSU to a 10-1 regular season record, the SEC Western Division title, and a top-5 ranking going into the SEC Championship Game. He also improved statistically, completing 60 percent of his passes for 2,443 yards and 15 touchdowns. Russell received an honorable mention on the AP's All-SEC Team.Russell led the Tigers to two dramatic come-from-behind wins in the regular season. The first came on a 39 yard pass to Early Doucet on 4th down in the final minute of the game, as the Tigers defeated Arizona State 35-31. Later in the season, LSU defeated a then-undefeated Alabama team 16-13 when Russell completed a 14 yard touchdown to Dwayne Bowe in overtime for the win.
Russell injured his shoulder in a loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, and missed the team's bowl game. Backup quarterback Matt Flynn replaced Russell for the Peach Bowl against Miami, and the Tigers won the game 40-3.
Russell also received some acclaim for his assistance efforts after Hurricane Katrina. After the hurricane and flood, Russell is reported to have housed around 20 people in his apartment, including legendary New Orleans singer Fats Domino, who had been rescued by boat during the flood.http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_5132923
Junior season :
Russell was the starting quarterback again at LSU in 2006, beating out backup Matt Flynn and highly-touted redshirt freshman Ryan Perrilloux. He had a productive 2006 regular season, leading the Tigers to a 10-2 record and a BCS Sugar Bowl berth. He threw for 2,797 yards, 26 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He was also second in the SEC with 2,923 yards from scrimmage. He also won the SEC Offensive Player Of the Week award three times during the regular season.A memorable performance of the 2006 season came against Tennessee. In spite of throwing three interceptions (including one returned for a touchdown), he led LSU on a come-from-behind, 15-play, 80-yard drive in the final minutes of the game. The drive ended with a four-yard touchdown pass to Early Doucet with less than 10 seconds left in the game, and the Tigers defeated Tennessee 28-24. Earlier in the drive, Russell and Doucet also connected for a first down on a 4th and 8 situation. In the final game of his junior year, the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Russell accumulated over 350 yards of passing and rushing and scored 3 TDs, leading to the Tigers 41-14 win over Notre Dame. He was also named the Sugar Bowl's MVP.
At the end of the 2006 season, Russell was named to the all-SEC first team, ahead of Kentucky's Andre Woodson and Florida's Chris Leak. In addition, he was named an honorable mention All-American by Sports Illustrated.
Awards and honors :
- Columbus Touchdown Club SEC Player of the Year (2005)
- 4x SEC Offensive Player of the Week (1 in 2005, 3 in 2006)
- First-team All-SEC by the Associated Press and SEC coaches (2006)
- Manning Award (2006)
- Davey O'Brien Award semifinalist (2006)
- Sugar Bowl MVP (2007)
NFL career :
2007 NFL Draft :
On January 10 2007, Russell stated that he had decided to skip his final season of NCAA eligibility with LSU and enter the 2007 NFL Draft,, where he was picked by the Oakland Raiders as the 1st overall draft pick. USC coach Pete Carroll said he considered Russell to be the player his former offensive coordinator and current Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin should select.USC football coach Pete Carroll Sticking around Soon after announcing his decision to enter the Draft, Russell began working out with former College of San Mateo coach Tom Martinez, who has also worked with Tom Brady.JaMarcus turns to Brady's GuruAfter the 2007 NFL Draft, The Oakland Raiders and JaMarcus Russell's agents could not come to an agreement on a contract. JaMarcus Russell held out of training camp and did not begin with the Raiders until the latter weeks of the NFL preseason.
Russell was also one of four LSU players taken in the first round, along with Safety Laron Landry, and wide receivers Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis
Rookie season :
Russell saw his first playing time December 2 against the Denver Broncos. Coming into the game in the 2nd quarter in relief of Josh McCown, Russell's first pass attempt was a 16 yard completion to Jerry Porter. Russell played only a few more downs and finished with 4 completions in 7 attempts for 56 yards; Russell was then benched, and Josh McCown returned for the remainder of Oakland's 34-20 win against Denver. He also saw action during another Raider home game against the Indianapolis Colts. He played for three series, finishing with two completions out of five passes thrown for a total of 10 yards with two passes being dropped. He was then benched in the third quarter, with Josh McCown finishing the game.Head Coach Lane Kiffin has been cautious to not put Russell into game situations in which he has little chance of being successful. For this reason he did not play in the road game in Green Bay due to cold weather and a hostile crowd. Lane Kiffin announced during the week before the game that Russell would play for the first time away from Oakland when the Raiders were to play the Jacksonville Jaguars on December 23, 2007. Though he did not start the game, saw the most playing time he has had so far.
Russell threw his first career interception in the second quarter of the game against the Jaguars on a third and long, although the return was fumbled and the resulting series ended in a field goal. He went on to throw 2 more interceptions before completing his first NFL touchdown pass to Zack Miller in a 49-11 losing effort. A completed 2 point conversion was his final pass on the game. He finished the game 7 of 23 for 86 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. He also lost a fumble in the game.
His first NFL start came when the Oakland Raiders hosted the San Diego Chargers. On the very first play from scrimmage, JaMarcus threw an INT which was a screen pass intended for Dominic Rhodes. It was grabbed by Chargers Defensive Lineman Igor Olshansky. He seemed to settle down and completed 73% of his passes for the rest of the game, finishing 23/31, 234, a TD (34 yard pass to Jerry Porter) and and INT.
JaMarcus finished his rookie season 36/66, 373, 2 TD's and 4 INT's. He has since been named the starter for the 2008-2009 NFL Season.
References :
External links :
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