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Jordy Nelson
File:Jordy Nelson (cropped).jpg
No. 87     Green Bay Packers
Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: (1985-05-31) May 31, 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth: Manhattan, Kansas
High School: Riley (KS) County
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Weight: 217 lb (98 kg)
Career information
College: Kansas State
NFL Draft: 2008 / Round: 2 / Pick: 36
Debuted in 2008 for the Green Bay Packers
Career history
* Green Bay Packers ( 2008–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
* Honorable mention All-Big 12 (2005)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2013
Receptions     302
Receiving Yards     4,590
AverageY/C     15,2
Receiving Touchdowns     36
Stats at NFL.com

Jordan Raymond Nelson (born May 31, 1985) is an American football wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Kansas State University, and received All-America honors. Nelson was drafted in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft, and has played professionally for the Packers. He is regarded as being one of the few elite receivers in the NFL.[1][2]

Personal life[]

Nelson was born in Manhattan, Kansas]]. Jordy Nelson married his longtime girlfriend Emily (née Rothlisberger) in 2007 after proposing on a family vacation to Cancun. Emily played basketball at Bethel College (Kan.). The couple has a son, Royal.[3]

Nelson is a Christian and has spoken about his faith by saying, "Now, as a husband, father and, most importantly, as a Christian, I can see the Super Bowl Champion label with a greater perspective. I know it’s an opportunity to share the most important truth of life: the gospel of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."[4]

Early years[]

He attended Riley County High School in Riley, Kansas, and played for the Riley high school football team. During his senior year at the quarterback position, he completed 62 percent of his passes for 1,029 yards and eight touchdowns. He also rushed for 1,572 yards, averaging 9.8 yards per carry with 25 touchdowns. He was named Flint Hills Player of the Year by the Manhattan Mercury[5] and was a two-time first-team All-Mid-East League selection. Nelson was a first team 3A all-state football player and earned Top 22 honors in the state of Kansas as a quarterback/defensive back. In 2003, he played in the Kansas Shrine Bowl. He was also an all-state basketball player averaging 17.2 points per game his senior year for the Falcons.

Track and field[]

Nelson was also an outstanding track and field athlete at Riley County High School. He won a national AAU championship in the 400 meters as a 10-year-old. In 2003, his senior year, he won the state titles in Class 3A in the 100 meters, with a time of 10.63 seconds, 200 meters, with a time of 21.64 seconds, 400 meters, with a time of 48.79 and long jump, with a leap of 7.00 meters.

College career[]

Nelson attended Kansas State University, where he played for coach Bill Snyder's Kansas State Wildcats football team from 2003 to 2007. He began his college career as a walk-on at K-State, and took his redshirt year as a member of the Wildcats' 2003 Big 12 Championship team. Nelson was set to play defensive back in college, but during spring practice following his first year, Snyder moved him to wide receiver. During his sophomore campaign, Nelson caught 65 passes for 8 touchdowns, elevating expectations for the junior wide receiver, as he was listed on the Biletnikoff Award watch list. Injuries kept him off the field most of his junior year, leading to a disappointing junior season, in which he only caught 39 balls for 1 touchdown.

After going unnoticed his junior year, Nelson broke out during his senior year, and was among the nation's best receivers. He earned consensus All-American honors, and was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, after catching 122 passes for 1,606 yards and 11 touchdowns. Nelson also showed his versatility by throwing 2 touchdowns and returning 2 punts for touchdowns. After the season, Nelson continued to improve his stock as an NFL wide receiver prospect for the 2008 draft.

Professional career[]

File:Jordy Nelson Green Bay Packers.jpg

Jordy Nelson, August 2011

2008 NFL Combine[]

Pre-draft measureables
Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP Wonderlic
6 ft 3 in 217 lb 4.51 s 1.50 s 2.59 s 4.35 s 7.03 s 31 in 10 ft 3 in

Green Bay Packers[]

2008 season

On April 26, 2008 — the first day of the NFL Draft — Nelson was drafted by the Green Bay Packers with the 5th pick of the second round (the 36th overall selection). Nelson was the third receiver taken in the draft. He recorded his first touchdown reception September 14, 2008, a 29 yard pass from quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He recorded his second touchdown reception in week 14 against the Houston Texans. Nelson finished his rookie campaign with 33 receptions for 366 yards and 2 touchdowns.

2009 season

In 2009, Nelson played in 13 games for the Packers, catching 22 balls for 320 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also saw action as the primary kick returner for most of the year.

2010 season

In the 2010 season he set career-highs in receiving yards (582) and catches (45), while catching 2 touchdown passes for the third straight year.[6] Following the injury to Aaron Rodgers against the Detroit Lions on December 12, 2010, it was revealed that Nelson also serves as the Packers' emergency/third string quarterback.[7] However, in 2013 when Aaron Rodgers and Seneca Wallace both became injured it was announced that Scott Tolzien would be the team's emergency quarterback, though Nelson could still play the position if needed.

Building on strong outings in the 2010-11 playoffs against Atlanta and Chicago,[8] Nelson caught a 29-yard touchdown pass on third-and-1 with William Gay covering, for the first score of Super Bowl XLV. "This was Jordy last week: 'I think we need to convert on third downs to win the game.' ... Rodgers threw a terrific pass,capping an 80-yard touchdown drive," a live-blog reported.[9] In the balance of the game, Nelson struggled some and made no more touchdowns. However, he recovered from a dropped pass early in the fourth quarter to make a 38-yard play on the next down, taking the Packers to the Steelers' two-yard line.[10] Nelson was the top receiver of the game with 9 receptions for 140 yards (both career highs),[11] while also gaining 19 more yards on a kick return.[12]

2011
File:Jordy Nelson 2011.jpg

Jordy Nelson in 2011.

Nelson finished the 2011-12 regular season with career highs in touchdowns (15), receptions (68), and receiving yards (1,263). He had a career high 3 TD receptions in the season finale against the Detroit Lions, and moved into sole possession of 3rd place for most receiving TDs in a single season in Packers franchise history, behind only Sterling Sharpe (18) and Don Hutson (17). In the midst of his breakout season, Nelson signed a three year, $13.35 million contract extension on October 2.

Career Statistics[]

Season Team G GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD FUM
2008 Green Bay Packers 16 2 33 366 11.1 29 2 0
2009 Green Bay Packers 13 0 22 320 14.5 51 2 4
2010 Green Bay Packers 16 4 45 582 12.9 80 2 6
2011 Green Bay Packers 16 9 68 1,263 18.6 93 15 0
2012 Green Bay Packers 12 10 49 745 15.2 73 7 0
2013 Green Bay Packers 16 16 85 1,314 15.5 76 8 0
Total 89 41 302 4,590 15.2 93 36 10

References[]

  1. "Jordy Nelson, DS #9 WR, Kansas State". profootball. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/08/08/packers-coaches-consider-jordy-nelson-an-elite-receiver/. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  2. "Dez Bryant climbing ATL's wide receiver rankings". NFL.com. 2013-07-29. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000260099/article/dez-bryant-climbing-atls-wide-receiver-rankings. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  3. Jordy Nelson. "Green Bay Packers: Jordy Nelson". Packers.com. http://www.packers.com/team/roster/jordy-nelson/ba46e536-2782-4f2d-ba7b-334998fb3bbf/. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  4. "Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers". http://www.fca.org/themagazine/jordy-nelson-green-bay-packers/#.UsjW8hXnbIU.
  5. "Riley County has some big holes to fill for 2003". The Manhattan Mercury. 3 September 2003. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MM&p_theme=mm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FD583EA0B365407&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  6. Sun, Jan 514:55 3rd Qtr (1985-05-31). "Jordy Nelson Stats, News, Videos, Highlights, Pictures, Bio - Green Bay Packers - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=11270. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  7. http://packersnews.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20101213/PKR01/101213195/1058/PKR03
  8. Covitz, Randy, "Packers’ Nelson has gone from small-town Kansas to Super stage", The Kansas City Star, Feb. 01, 2011 10:36 PM CT. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
  9. Crouse, Karen, "Live Analysis: Super Bowl XLV, Steelers vs. Packers", The New York Times Fifth Down blog, 7:02 p.m. ET. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
  10. Hubbard, Jan,"Packers' underrated Nelson nearly winds up MVP", Kansas City Star, February 7, 2011 12:35 AM. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  11. Layden, Tim (February 14, 2011). "Green And Golden: Behind the poise and precision of quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the gutsy contributions of a host of role players, the Packers burnished their championship legacy with a memorable 31--25 victory over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV". Sports Illustrated. Time Inc.. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1181765/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
  12. "Super Bowl XLV boxscore on NFL.com"

External links[]

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