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James Laurinaitis
File:James Laurinaitis.JPG
Laurinaitis in 2010
No. 55     St. Louis Rams
Linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth: (1986-12-03) December 3, 1986 (age 37)
Place of birth: Minneapolis, Minnesota
High School: Wayzata (MN)
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 248 lb (112 kg)
Career information
College: Ohio State
NFL Draft: 2009 / Round: 2 / Pick: 35
Debuted in 2009 for the St. Louis Rams
Career history
* St. Louis Rams ( 2009–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
* First-team All-Big Ten (2006, 2007, 2008)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2013
Tackles     634
Sacks     12.0
Interceptions     9
Forced fumbles     1
Pass deflections     31

James Richard Laurinaitis (born December 3, 1986) is an American football linebacker for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL). Laurinaitis played college football for Ohio State University, was a three-time consensus All-American, and was recognized as the top college linebacker. He was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

College career[]

File:20081122 Brandon Minor eluding James Laurinaitis.jpg

Laurinaitis chases Brandon Minor during the 2008 Michigan–Ohio State rivalry game.

Laurinaitis attended The Ohio State University, where he played for coach Jim Tressel's Ohio State Buckeyes football team from 2005 to 2008. As a true freshman in 2005, he played in all 12 games eventually reaching No. 2 on the depth chart at strong-side linebacker behind Bobby Carpenter. After Carpenter broke a leg on the first play from scrimmage in their rivalry game against Michigan, Laurinaitis played the rest of that game, and also started in their Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame. At the end of the 2006 regular season, Laurinaitis led the team in tackles (115) and interceptions (5), and also had 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.[1]

In 2006 Laurinaitis won the Nagurski Award as the nation's best defensive player, and was also named a finalist for the Butkus and Bednarik awards. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American. Laurinaitis won the Butkus Award for most outstanding college linebacker in 2007. He was also recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American in 2007, having been named to the first teams of multiple selectors including the Associated Press (AP), the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), FWAA, Sporting News, the Walter Camp Foundation, and Rivals.com. He was honored as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.[2]

Career statistics[]

Year
Team
GP
GS
TT
Solo
Ast
TFL
Sack
PDef
INT
FF
FR
Hurr
BK
TD
2005 OSU 12 0 9 3 6 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
2006 OSU 13 13 115 53 62 4 4 5 3 1 2 0 0
2007 OSU 13 13 121 51 70 8 5 1 2 0 1 0 0 0
2008 OSU 13 13 130 52 78 7 4 4 2 1 0 2 0 0
Career 51 39 365 159 206 24 13 9 9 4 2 5 0 0

Professional career[]

Pre-draft measureables[]

Pre-draft measureables
Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP Wonderlic
6 ft 1⅞ in 244 lb 4.82 s 1.79 s 2.92 s 4.78 s 6.91 s 31 in 9 ft 7 in 17 rep 21
File:Jameslaurinaitis .jpg

Laurinaitis playing in Denver on 11-28-2010.

Career statistics[]

Year
Team
GP
GS
Comb
Solo
Ast
TFL
Sack
PDef
INT
FF
FR
Hurr
BK
TD
2009 STL 16 16 120 107 13 4 2 5 2 1 1 6 0 0
2010 STL 16 16 114 98 16 8 3 5 1 0 1 7 0 0
2011 STL 16 16 142 105 37 8 3 7 2 0 1 5 0 0
2012 STL 16 16 142 117 25 4 .5 4 2 0 1 2 0 0
Career 64 64 518 427 91 24 8.5 21 7 1 4 20 0 0

Family[]

James is one of two children born to Joseph and Julie Laurinaitis. He has Lithuanian roots on his father's side.[5] James has a half-brother, Joseph, Jr., from his father's first marriage, who is a veteran of the Iraq War and training to become a police officer. His younger sister, Jessica, played on her high school hockey team and graduated from high school in 2008.[6]

James' father Joe is a semi-retired World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) professional wrestler better known by his ring name Road Warrior Animal, one half of legendary wrestling tag-team The Road Warriors, while his uncles Marcus and John Laurinaitis are also former professional wrestlers.

References[]

External links[]

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