 Legedu Naanee (left) during the 2009 NFL preseason. | |
| No. 19 | |
| Wide receiver | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: September 16, 1983 | |
| Place of birth: Portland, Oregon | |
| Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | Weight: 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: Boise State | |
| NFL Draft: 2007 / Round: 5 / Pick: 172 | |
| Debuted in 2007 for the San Diego Chargers | |
| Career history | |
| Roster status: Active | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 4, 2012 | |
| Receptions | 108 |
| Receiving Yards | 1,232 |
| Receiving TDs | 4 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
Legedu A. Naanee (pronounced LEG-a-doo Nah-NAY, born September 16, 1983) is an unsigned American football wide receiver of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Boise State University Broncos.
Naanee has also played for the Carolina Panthers and the Miami Dolphins.
Early years
Naanee attended Franklin High School in Portland, Oregon and was a student and a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. In football, he was a four-year starter earning awards at WR and DB. In basketball, he won All-League honors as a junior.
College career
Although Naanee received scholarship offers from many Pac-10 and Big 12 schools, such as Oregon and Oregon State, Naanee chose to play college football at Boise State University because they were the only major program to offer him a chance to play quarterback, a position he cherished and played in high school. After Jared Zabransky won the starting job in 2004, Naanee realized that if he wanted to play, it had to be at another position.[1]
Naanee filled in at receiver and although the transition and failure at quarterback was difficult, he said being able to "feel like you were part of things and contributing, that went out the window". He remarked, "maybe it was something that was meant to be, for me to go through something like that and then to switch."[1]
Professional career
2007 NFL Draft
With Naanee playing most of his football career at receiver, the Chargers selected Naanee with the 172nd overall selection in the 5th round of the 2007 NFL Draft.
| Pre-draft measureables | |||||||||
| Weight | 40 yd | 20 ss | 3-cone | Vert | BP | Wonderlic | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 226 lb (103 kg)* | 4.41*[2] | 4.20 | 6.73s[3] | 40 in (101.6 cm)* | 19*[4] | X | |||
(* represents NFL Combine)
San Diego Chargers
Naanee was targeted by Norv Turner to become the next star for the Chargers to become his F-Back project, much like Delanie Walker and Michael Robinson were when Turner was the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers.[5] The F-Back is much like the H-back in other offenses in the sense it is a hybrid position (WR/TE/FB) purposely versatile to take advantage of mismatches.
Naanee was the starting number two receiver for the Chargers behind Malcom Floyd for much of the 2010 season. This is due to a holdout by the usual starter Vincent Jackson. Naanee caught a TD pass in his first start of the 2010 season on a 59-yard pass from quarterback Philip Rivers in the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Regarding his versatility, head coach Norv Turner said, "We're going to continue to move him. He's going to be a guy who's versatile enough to move around. That's going to help him be put in position to make some plays."[1] On December 6, 2009, Naanee completed a pass on a flea flicker to LaDainian Tomlinson.[6]
Arrest
He was arrested for public intoxication and resisting arrest at the scene of a homicide in Indianapolis on February 12, 2011.[7]
Carolina Panthers
Naanee signed with the Carolina Panthers on August 4, 2011.
Miami Dolphins
Naanee signed a one year deal with the Miami Dolphins on April 17.[8] He was cut on October 2, 2012 after posting only one catch for 19 yards in his four-game tenure with the team.[9]
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||||
| 2007 | SD | 13 | 0 | 8 | 69 | 8.6 | 22 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2008 | SD | 16 | 0 | 8 | 64 | 8.0 | 18 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | - |
| 2009 | SD | 15 | 1 | 24 | 242 | 10.1 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 10 | 0 | -- | -- |
| 2010 | SD | 10 | 9 | 23 | 271 | 16.1 | 59 | 1 | 3 | -2 | -0.7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2011 | CAR | 15 | 10 | 44 | 467 | 10.6 | 28 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2012 | MIA | 4 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 19 | 0 | |||||||
| Total | 69 | 20 | 108 | 1,232 | 11.3 | 59 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 0.8 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Jay Posner, SignOnSanDiego.com > San Diego Chargers – For Chargers rookie, good comes from new position
- ↑ http://www.mattrauch.com/2007-nfl-combine-results.php
- ↑ Legedu Naanee, WR, Boise State – 2007 NFL Draft Scout Profile, Powered by The SportsXchange
- ↑ San Diego Chargers
- ↑ 2006 49ers Draft Review and Analysis
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ http://www.wthr.com/story/14029500/chargers-wr-arrested-at-homicide-scene
- ↑ http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/thedailydolphin/2012/04/17/miami-dolphins-sign-wr-legedu-naanee/
- ↑ http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/48816/dolphins-add-wr-gaffney-cut-naanee
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