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Lawrence Alexander Izzo (pronounced /IS-o/) (born September 26, 1974 in Fort Belvoir, Virginia) is an American football linebacker for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 1996. He played college football at Rice.
[edit] High school career
Izzo attended 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.
[edit] College career
Larry Izzo attended Rice University, and was a four-year letterman 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.[1] 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 teammate N. 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 Mention All-American.
[edit] National Football League career
Izzo went undrafted in the 1996 NFL Draft and was later signed by the Miami Dolphins as a free 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 was Dan Marino and the other the then-unknown Izzo.[2] He spent most of his time on special teams, and was rewarded with his first trip to the Pro 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.
[edit] 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 Cowboy Bill Bates (216) and former Bill Steve 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.[3]
- Izzo was the Miami Dolphins recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award in 1998.
- Graduated from Rice 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.
[edit] Community activism
- Izzo represented the NFL during a 2005 "The USO and NFL Salute the Troops Tour," which visited soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. During the tour, Izzo and Warrick Dunn officially opened the USO Pat Tillman Center at Bagram, a center that serves thousands of troops transitioning to and from Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq and Europe.[4]
- 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 including Mark Cuban, Tom Brady, and other members of the New England Patriots.[5]
- 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.[6]
[edit] External links
