Larry Izzo

Lawrence Alexander Izzo (born September 26, 1974) is a retired American football linebacker and special teamer and current assistant special teams coach for the New York Giants. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 1996. He played college football at Rice.

A three-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro selection, Izzo has also played for the New England Patriots. He earned three Super Bowl rings during his time with the Patriots.

Early years
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 26, 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. 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.

Miami Dolphins
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. He spent most of his time on special teams, and was rewarded with his first trip to the Pro Bowl in 2000.

New England Patriots
Izzo 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. Izzo gained notoriety in 2002 in the Patriots Super Bowl parade by leading the crowd in a "Yankees suck!" chant, in reference to the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry.

New York Jets
Izzo joined his third AFC East team, the New York Jets on March 11, 2009. On December 10, 2009, the Jets placed Izzo on IR after tests revealed a spine injury.

New York Giants
On June 24, 2011, Izzo joined the New York Giants as assistant special teams coach. With the Giants he led the special teams and won Super Bowl XLVI

Accomplishments

 * Through twelve games into the 2009 NFL season, Izzo has recorded more special teams tackles than any other NFL player in history (298). Izzo has racked up 275 ST Tackles in 200 career regular-season games plus 23 tackles in 21 postseason games.  While the NFL does not publish official statistics on ST tackles, that ranks Izzo ahead of Buffalo's Mark Pike (283). He also ranks ahead of Keith Burns (231), Gary Stills (218), former Dallas Cowboy Bill Bates (216) and former Bill Steve Tasker (186).
 * In 14 NFL seasons, Izzo never played on a team with a losing record. That included 9 playoff appearances, 5 AFC Championship appearances, 4 Super Bowl appearances, and 3 Super Bowl victories.
 * Through the 2008 season, Izzo played in 103 consecutive games for the Patriots, dating back to 2002.
 * While with the Patriots, Izzo once received a game ball after "doing number two" on the sideline during a game without Patriots head coach Bill Belichick noticing.
 * 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.
 * Izzo was the Miami Dolphins recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award in 1998.
 * Graduated from Rice University with a degree in Managerial Studies.
 * In 2008, Izzo was selected by his teammates as special teams captain of the New England Patriots for the 8th 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * While at the 2002 Pro Bowl, Izzo visited 8,500 crew members aboard the USS Carl Vinson at Pearl Harbor, and the ship left the next day to participate in Operation Enduring Freedom.
 * As of 2008 Izzo hosts an interview segment on the NESN dating show Sox Appeal.
 * In October 2008, Izzo spoke at the Light the Night Walk in Boston, a charity walk that benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Personal
Izzo and his wife Mara were married on February 21, 2004.