Dante Rosario

Dante Santiago Rosario (born October 25, 1984 in Beaverton, Oregon) is an American football tight end for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League and played college football at the University of Oregon.

High school career
Rosario attended Dayton High School in Dayton, Oregon. In his senior season, Rosario was named the 2002 Oregon 2A state defensive player of the year, and earned first-team all-state honors on both offense and defense in 2002 while leading the Pirates to the state 2A title. In a 45-20 victory against Amity in the 2002 2A state title game, Rosario rushed for 126 yards and four touchdowns on 22 carries. He was ranked as the No. 6 linebacker on the West Coast by SuperPrep after posting 144 tackles (75 unassisted), three quarterback sacks, and five interceptions as a free safety/middle linebacker. He returned three of those interceptions for touchdowns. On offense, Rosario racked up 1,238 yards and 27 touchdowns rushing, and two more touchdowns on punt returns. The 6-foot-4 Rosario also played center for the school’s two-time defending state basketball champions. As a junior, he was named first-team all-tournament after averaging 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds in leading Dayton to its second straight state championship.

College career
In 49 games at the University of Oregon, Rosario recorded 94 receptions for 1,003 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. Rosario played four different positions for the Ducks - halfback, H-back, fullback and tight end - and also was a special teams star for Oregon.

As a senior in 2006, Rosario was named as an All-Pac 10 honorable mention selection after making 42 receptions, a school single-season record for tight ends, for 426 yards and one touchdown. He was the co-recipient of the Gordon Wilson Award, given to Oregon's top special teams player, after recording ten tackles and one forced fumble.

In 2005, Rosario's junior season, he moved to tight end from fullback, and caught 15 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. He also record 11 tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery on special teams.

In his sophomore season (2004), Rosario was shifted to fullback from H-back, and caught 25 passes for 278 yards and six touchdowns. He also rushed for 29 yards and a touchdown in 10 carries.

Rosario began his collegiate career at Oregon in 2003 and played H-back after being recruited primarily as a linebacker. He started three games as a freshman and made 12 catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 55 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries.

Professional career
Rosario was chosen by Carolina in the fifth round (155th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. As a rookie in 2007, Rosario caught six passes for 108 yards (an 18.0 per-catch average) and two touchdowns. Rosario became just the third player in Carolina history to score a touchdown on first career NFL reception when he caught a five-yard pass from quarterback, Vinny Testaverde against San Francisco on December 2, 2007. Rosario also returned two kickoffs for 39 yards (a 19.5 average).

In the Panthers' 2008 season opener against the Chargers on September 7, Rosario overcame double coverage to catch a 14-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone as time expired, to give Carolina a 26-24 victory against the heavily favored San Diego Chargers. It is considered to be one of the most memorable catches in Carolina Panther history. When the game ended, Fox's final statistics leaderboard for the game mistakenly displayed the name of actress Rosario Dawson. He finished the 2008 season with 18 catches for 209 yards and 1 touchdown.

Personal
Rosario's mother Yvonne (who died from cancer when Dante was a junior in high school) was a volleyball player at Oregon State University, and his father, Pedro, formerly pitched in the Atlanta Braves' organization. His younger brother, Sergio, is a basketball player at Linfield College in Oregon. He also has sister Angela, who lives in Oregon.