Erik Lorig

Erik Lorig (born November 17, 1986) is a professional American Football player who is the starting fullback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He played college football at Stanford. He was drafted by the Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Early years
Lorig was born in Rolling Hills, California. He is of Jewish (on his father's side) and Scandinavian (on his mother's side) descent. He graduated from Palos Verdes Peninsula High School in California, where as a two way player he earned Cal-Hi Sports, Parade Magazine, PrepStar, and SuperPrep All-America honors as a senior and was a two-time Cal-High Sports all-state selection. He earned All-Bay Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Daily Breeze all-area and all-section honors as a junior and senior, and was ranked as the seventh-best tight end prospect in the nation by Rivals.com as a senior and ranked as the No. 8 tight end in the nation and 15th-best overall recruit in California by Scout.com, and a "Super Recruit" by CollegeSports.com.

He finished his senior season with 130 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 20 tackles-for-loss. and four interceptions, as well as 550 receiving yards and eight touchdowns as a tight end.

There are the two other players from Lorig's high school team that are currently playing in the NFL: Tight End Craig Stevens and Center Collin Baxter.

College career
He played college football at Stanford. At 6-foot-4, 280 pounds, he ran the 40 yd dash in 4.76 seconds, and is known for having a quick burst off the line. Lorig did not workout while at the combine due to injury. In his first two years at Stanford, Lorig played tight end and wore number 80. In his freshman campaign, Lorig played in all 12 games where he contributed on special teams and served as the offense's blocking TE, often lining up in the backfield as an H-back/Fullback. He recorded 10 catches for 100 yards. He was then asked by the new coaching staff to switch to Defensive End his Junior year and proceeded to record 39 tackles, including six tackles for loss and three sacks in 2008, and had 37 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in 2007. His NFL prospect status took a severe hit in 2009, when he sat out most of the season because of a torn pectoral muscle.

As an undergraduate at Stanford, Lorig majored in Public Policy, a sub-department within the School of Economics, with an emphasis in Technology Policy and minored in Film and Media Studies. He currently is pursuing a Masters degree in Digital Media Interaction at Stanford during his off-seasons. Lorig earned All Pac-10 Academic Honors twice (2008, 2009) while at Stanford.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Lorig was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round (253rd overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was signed to a four-year contract for 1.8 million dollars on June 18, 2010.

Lorig was originally drafted by the Buccaneers as a versatile athlete/DE, although made the permanent move to FB/TE after his rookie pre-season.