Darrius Heyward-Bey

Darrius Heyward-Bey (born February 26, 1987) is an American football wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Raiders seventh overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Maryland.

Early years
Heyward-Bey attended the McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland, where he played football as a wide receiver and linebacker. During his senior year, he earned first-team all-state honors and was named a PrepStar All-American. In track and field, he finished fifth at nationals as a junior and was the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) champion in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. He also ran a 60 meter indoor time of 6.83 his junior year and 6.82 his senior year, the joint 6th and joint 4th fastest times in the nation respectively.

College career
Heyward-Bey was recruited by Alabama, Boston College, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, and Virginia, before ultimately choosing to attend Maryland.

He spent 2005 on redshirt status. In 2006, he ran a 4.23-second 40-yard dash, which set the school record for a wide receiver. That season, he was considered one of the top rookies in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and earned first-team freshman All-America from the Sporting News and Rivals.com. He led the Terps with 45 receptions, and set a school record for a freshman with 694 receiving yards.

In 2007, Heyward-Bey was placed on the Biletnikoff Award watchlist. He led Maryland in receptions, with 51, and receiving yards, with 786. His 63-yard touchdown reception in the 2007 Emerald Bowl against Oregon State stands as the second-longest in Maryland bowl history. At season's end, Heyward-Bey was awarded the team's Most Valuable Offensive Player honor.

During his junior season in 2008, he made 42 catches for 609 yards and five touchdowns, and earned an All-ACC honorable mention. On January 7, 2009, Heyward-Bey announced that he would forgo his senior season to enter the NFL Draft. He finished his career at Maryland second in school history in career receiving yards with 2,089, third in receptions with 138 and tied for third in touchdown catches with 13. In just three years, he was second only to Jermaine Lewis in receiving yards.

2009 NFL Draft
In the 2009 NFL Draft, Heyward-Bey was selected by the Oakland Raiders as the seventh overall pick. As the first wide receiver selected, he was picked earlier than most projections, and before Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin, who most analysts thought would precede Heyward-Bey. At the 2009 NFL Combine, he had recorded the best 40-yard dash time of 4.3 seconds.

2009
During Organized Team Activities following the draft, Heyward-Bey practiced early but was plagued by multiple hamstring injuries. On July 30, 2009, the Oakland Raiders agreed to terms on a five-year deal with Heyward-Bey. As a rookie, Heyward-Bey started 11 games. In those games, he made nine receptions for 124 yards and one touchdown and rushed twice for 20 yards. He averaged 11.3 yards per reception in 2009.

2010
In 2010, Heyward-Bey started 14 of his 15 games. He made 26 receptions over 366 yards and made one touchdown. On September 19 against the St. Louis Rams, Heyward-Bey made a career-high six receptions. In the first half of that game, he caught one for 6 yards from Jason Campbell, and Heyward-Bey made all five of his other receptions in the second half from passes by Bruce Gradkowski. Vittorio Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle highlighted Heyward-Bey's performance that game as a marked improvement from the preseason. Then on October 31 in a 33-3 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, Heyward-Bey made a career-long 69-yard touchdown reception from Campbell, part of a career high of 105 receiving yards in that game. Nearly double last year's average, Heyward-Bey averaged 24.4 yards per catch.

2011
On October 2, 2011, in the Raiders' 31-19 loss to the New England Patriots, Heyward-Bey made 4 receptions for 115 yards, including a 58-yard grab. Over the next three games, he would receive for 99 (October 9 against Houston Texans), 82 (October 16 against Cleveland Browns), and 89 (October 23 against Kansas City Chiefs) yards. On December 18, 2011, in a 28-27 loss to the Detroit Lions, Heyward-Bey made 8 receptions for 155 yards, both career highs, and the most single game receiving yards for the Raiders since Jerry Rice in 2003. However, on December 24, the Raiders won over the Kansas City Chiefs 16-13 in overtime. Heyward-Bey caught a 53-yard pass from Carson Palmer during overtime to set up Sebastian Janikowski's winning field goal. Heyward-Bey made a total of 4 receptions for 70 yards in that game. On January 1, during a loss to the San Diego Chargers, Heyward-Bey caught 9 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown.

2012
On September 23, 2012, in the fourth quarter of a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Heyward-Bey was unconscious after being hit in the endzone by the Steelers' Ryan Mundy. He was down motionless in the endzone for more than 10 minutes before being placed in the ambulance to the Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley. Heyward-Bey was released the next day, and is expected to make a full recovery. Mundy would be later fined for the hit.