Mortty Ivy

Mortty Ivy (born April 26, 1986 in Monroeville, Pennsylvania) is an American football linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was signed by the Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at West Virginia.

Early years
Ivy played quarterback in high school at Gateway High School. He accounted for over 2,000 yards as a senior and was named all-state. He was also a basketball letterman.

Collegiate career
Ivy enrolled at West Virginia in 2004, but did not see varsity action as he redshirted.

As a redshirt-freshman in 2005, Ivy played backup to star Kevin "Boo" McLee at middle linebacker. Ivy had three tackles and one for a loss in the win against Wofford and three stops against Maryland. He had four tackles in the loss to Virginia Tech and five in the overtime win against Louisville. He finished the season with five tackles against Cincinnati and six tackles against Pittsburgh. He recorded 44 tackles on the season.

Ivy was limited playing time in 2006 as a sophomore due to injury, but still managed 26 tackles on the season.

Ivy became the starter as a junior in 2007 and shook off the injury that limited his sophomore season. His first start came against Western Michigan, where he had a career-high 10 tackles. He recorded a career-high 11 tackles, two sacks and forced a fumble on the goal line that was recovered for a West Virginia touchdown, earning him the Big East Player of the Week honors. At the end of the regular season, he earned the team's Coaches Contribution Award. In the Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma, Ivy recorded four tackles.

Ivy finished his junior season with 89 tackles, six sacks, one interception, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery for a touchdown. His forced fumbles led the team, while his tackles were second on the team, behind linebacker Reed Williams, and his sacks were third on the team.

During the early stages of spring practice in April 2008, head coach Bill Stewart praised Ivy by saying, "Mortty Ivy, wow, I thought he was great...I was about 10 feet away and I got out of the way. Man, he was hitting them. Mortty Ivy has had the spring of all springs." During the spring, Ivy moved from weakside linebacker to strongside.

In the first game of the season, a 48-21 victory over Villanova, Ivy recorded five tackles, a sack, an interception that he returned for a touchdown, and a forced recovery that he returned for 30 yards. In the following 24-3 loss to East Carolina, he recorded nine tackles and a tackle for a loss. In the 35-13 win over Connecticut, he earned Big East Defensive Player of the Week honors with his 10 tackles and interception.

Ivy finished his season as a First-team All-Big East selection and WVU's Defensive Player of the Year selection - finishing the season with 90 tackles, seven tackles-for-a-loss, three interceptions, and a fumble recovery.

Pre-draft
Following the conclusion of his senior season at West Virginia University, Ivy played in the 2009 East-West Shrine Game for the East squad. He was also officially invited to the NFL Combine. However, he went unselected in the 2009 NFL Draft.

Carolina Panthers
Following the draft Ivy signed a free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers. He was waived on September 5 and re-signed to the team's practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster after wide receiver Steve Smith was placed on injured reserve.

Externals Links

 * Carolina Panthers bio
 * West Virginia Mountaineers bio