Tedy Bruschi

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**Tedy Bruschi**
National Football League debut
Tedy Bruschi (right) at the White House.
New England Patriots — No. 54
Linebacker
Date of birth: June 9, 1973 (1973-06-09) (age 35)
Place of birth: San Francisco, California
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Weight: 247 lb (112 kg)
1996 for the New England Patriots
Career history
College: Arizona
NFL Draft: 1996 / Round: 3 / Pick: 86
Teams: New England Patriots (1996-present)
Career highlights and awards
Pro Bowl selection (2005) Co-NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2005) 3x Super Bowl champion (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX)
Stats at NFL.com

Tedy Lacap Bruschi (pronounced /BREW-ski/) (born June 9, 1973 in San Francisco, California) is an American football linebacker for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Patriots in the third round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona.

A 12-year veteran of the NFL, Bruschi has played his entire career with the Patriots and has won three Super Bowl rings.

1 Early years
2 College career
3 Professional career
4 Personal
5 External links
6 References

[edit] Early years

Bruschi attended Roseville High School in Roseville, California, and was a student and a letterman in football, wrestling, and track & field. In football, he was twice named an All-Conference selection, an All-Metro selection, and an All-Northern California honoree. Tedy was also valedictorian and held the highest GPA in the tri-state area.

[edit] College career

He played college football at the University of Arizona as a defensive end, where he tied the NCAA Division I-A sack record with 52 quarterback sacks. He was a member of the debate team, and the aptly named "Desert Swarm" defense with their hard-nosed tactics coached by Defensive Line Coach Rich Ellerson and Defensive Coordinator Larry MacDuff prior to MacDuff's departure to be the special teams coach for the NFL's New York Giants.

[edit] Professional career

He was taken by the Patriots in the 3rd round (86th overall) of the 1996 NFL draft.

On February 16, 2005, Bruschi was taken to a hospital with symptoms including temporary numbness, blurred vision and headaches. Bruschi suffered a mild stroke. He suffered from a PFO (Patent Foramen Ovale) which is a congenital heart defect. Bruschi suffered from partial paralysis and was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital. After several months of rehabilitation working with Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, Bruschi announced that he would sit out the 2005 NFL season.^[1]

On October 16, 2005, it was announced that Bruschi had been medically cleared to resume playing football and he rejoined the team on the practice field three days later. The Patriots officially activated him on October 29, and he played the following night against the Buffalo Bills. ESPN broadcast this game and had several features on Bruschi's return. Many interviews about Bruschi were shown, some during key plays in the game. Following the game, Bruschi was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Bruschi played in all but the final game against Miami and was ready to suit up for the first playoff game against Jacksonville. He was named the 2005 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, an honor he shared with Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith.

[edit] Personal

Bruschi is of Filipino and Italian descent. As an accomplished saxophonist and has played with the Boston Pops.^[2] Bruschi resides in North Attleboro, Massachusetts with his wife, Heidi, and their three sons Tedy Jr. ("T. J."), Rex and Dante.

In 2007 Bruschi wrote a book about his experience with his stroke and his recovery, entitled Never Give Up: My Stroke, My Recovery, and My Return to the NFL. In his memoir, Bruschi speaks with candor about how his family confronted the reality of his life-threatening affliction, of his initial plans to retire from the NFL, and of the moment he told his wife he was ready to return to football, earning him a share of the Comeback Player of the Year Award and full ownership of the prestigious Ed Block Courage Award. His book was published by John Wiley & Sons in August 2007.

Tedy's Team is a foundation created by Bruschi with the American Heart Association to raise funds for stroke research, inspired by Bruschi's own experience.