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Mike Wallace
File:Mike Wallace (American football).JPG
Wallace during the 2011 NFL season
No. --     Miami Dolphins
Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: (1986-08-01) August 1, 1986 (age 37)
Place of birth: New Orleans, Louisiana
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 199 lb (90 kg)
Career information
College: Mississippi
NFL Draft: 2009 / Round: 3 / Pick: 84
Debuted in 2009 for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Career history
* Pittsburgh Steelers ( 2009 2012)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
* Pittsburgh Steelers Rookie of the Year (2009)
Career NFL statistics as of 2012
Receptions     235
Receiving yards     4,042
Receiving TDs     32
Stats at NFL.com

Burnell Micheal "Mike" Wallace III (born August 1, 1986) is an American football wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Mississippi, and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He is widely regarded as one of the fastest players in the NFL.[2]

Early years[]

Wallace was born to parents Burnell and Sonjia Wallace in New Orleans, Louisiana. He grew up in the Cut-Off section of the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans. He attended O. Perry Walker High School where he played football on both offense and defense. During his senior year, Wallace had 60 receptions for 1,039 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also returned four punts and four kickoffs for touchdowns, with seven more touchdowns called back due to penalties. Wallace set the school records for total points and kick return touchdowns.[3]

SuperPrep named him the 17th-ranked college prospect in the state of Louisiana. Wallace was also named the league MVP, district MVP, and All-West Bank MVP. He was also named an All-State, all-league, All-Metro, All-West Bank player.[3]

College career[]

In 2004, Wallace accepted a scholarship from Oregon State after insisting that they also recruit his best friend and high school teammate Keenan Lewis who was one year ahead of Wallace in school. However, Wallace later decided not to join Lewis at Oregon State but instead to follow his high school coach, Frank Wilson, who had joined the coaching staff at the University of Mississippi.[4]

As a true freshman in 2005, Wallace played in 10 games. In 2006, he started all 12 games as a split end. He recorded two touchdown receptions to tie for first on the team. At Kentucky, he had two receptions for 65 yards. Against Wake Forest, he had two receptions for 36 yards. At Alabama, he had his first career touchdown on a 55-yard catch from Brent Schaeffer. He had one catch for 38 yards against Mississippi State.

In 2007, Wallace saw action in all 12 games with nine starts as a split end. He recorded 716 receiving yards and had two 100-yard games. He had seven catches of at least 40 yards and three of at least 50 yards. He ranked first in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in yards per catch with 18.8. He was named third-team All-SEC.[3]

In 2008, he played in six games where he recorded 39 receptions for 784 yards and seven touchdowns. He also had ten carries for 92 yards.[3] In the 2009 Cotton Bowl against Texas Tech, he caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from Jevan Snead.[5] Wallace participated in the 2009 Senior Bowl on the South team, as a replacement for a no-show wide receiver invitee.[6]

Professional career[]

2009 NFL Draft[]

At the NFL Scouting Combine, Wallace finished second overall in the 40-yard dash with an official 4.33-second time. This was one of the fastest wide receiver times.

Pre-draft measureables
Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP Wonderlic
6 ft 0¼ in 199 lb 4.33 s 1.43 s 2.45 s 4.27 s 6.90 s 40 in 10 ft 9 in 14 rep

Pittsburgh Steelers[]

Wallace was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft with the 84th overall selection. Wallace was the 11th wide receiver chosen in the draft. On June 18, 2009, Wallace signed a three year contract with the Steelers worth $1.740 million which included a $555,000 signing bonus. In Pittsburgh he was reunited with Keenan Lewis, whom the Steelers selected just twelve picks after Wallace.

Wallace achieved his first 100-yard receiving game against the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2009; he had 7 receptions for 102 yards. On December 20, Wallace caught a game winning pass while falling out of bounds as time expired to defeat the Green Bay Packers, 37-36.[8] The catch made him a hero in Pittsburgh and the receiver was named the winner of the “Joe Greene Great Performance Award”, which is awarded each season to the outstanding Steelers rookie.[9] It was only his second catch of the game, but the first had been a 60 yard touchdown reception on the very first Steelers offensive snap.[10]

Wallace finished his rookie season leading the entire league in average yards per reception with 19.4 yards.[11]

2010 season[]

Following his promising rookie season and Santonio Holmes' trade to the New York Jets, Wallace was moved up the depth chart in 2010 to the #2 receiver spot behind Hines Ward.[12]

In 2010, Wallace had a standout second season with the Steelers, establishing himself as one of the NFL's elite wideouts with 1,257 yards receiving (third most in the AFC) and 10 touchdowns. Wallace led the NFL with seven 100-yard receiving games.

Wallace averaged 21.0 yards per catch in 2010, the most of any AFC receiver.[11] Wallace just missed becoming the third receiver in NFL history to lead the league in yardage per reception in his first two seasons after leading with 19.4 as a rookie. DeSean Jackson of Philadelphia averaged 22.5 yards per catch in 2010.[11]

During Super Bowl XLV Wallace had nine catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. It was Wallace's first Super Bowl appearance. In the 2011 offseason Mike Wallace stated that he would like to reach 2,000 yards.

2011 season[]

Against the Arizona Cardinals, he and Roethlisberger connected for a 95 yard touchdown reception, becoming the longest in Steeler's history. On December 27, 2011 Wallace was selected to his first ever Pro Bowl for the AFC.[13] Wallace finished the season with 8 touchdown receptions, 1,193 receiving yards and 72 receptions for an average total of 16.6 yards per catch. The Steelers were eliminated in the Wild Card round of the playoffs by the Denver Broncos 29-23. Wallace finished the game with only 3 receptions and 29 receiving yards. He did, however, score a rushing touchdown in the third quarter.

2012 season[]

After the 2011 season, Wallace held out from all of the team's OTAs, and held out the majority of training camp. He reported on August 28, 2012. Wallace became a free agent at the conclusion of the 2012 season.

Miami Dolphins[]

On March 12, 2013, Wallace was reportedly signed by the Miami Dolphins in a five-year deal worth $60 million dollars.[14][15]

Career statistics[]

Season Team Games Receiving Rushing Fumbles
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD FUM Lost
2012 Pittsburgh Steelers 15 14 64 836 13.1 82TD 8 5 7 1.4 13 0 2 1
2011 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 14 72 1,193 16.6 95TD 8 5 57 11.4 21 0 1 1
2010 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 16 60 1,257 21.0 56TD 10 5 39 7.8 19 0 1 0
2009 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 4 39 756 19.4 60TD 6 5 48 9.6 21 0 1 1
Total 63 48 235 4,042 17.2 95TD 32 20 151 7.6 21 0 5 3

References[]

  1. http://www.fox40tv.com/content/sports/story/Ex-Rebs-Wallace-Willis-Manning-Make-Pro-Bowl/_LtxlSIem0KaDnW0ljcWnQ.cspx
  2. "Top Five Fastest Players in the NFL". http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ycn-9163571. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Mike Wallace bio, University of Mississippi, retrieved January 27, 2009.
  4. Dulac, Gerry (April 27, 2009). "Profile of Steelers' third round draft picks Mike Wallace & Keenan Lewis". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on November 15, 2011. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09117/965876-66.stm. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
  5. Ole Miss Blows Away Texas Tech In Cotton Bowl, Rivals.com, January 2, 2009, retrieved January 27, 2009.
  6. Mike Wallace, Mississippi, WR, 2009 NFL Draft Scout Profile, NFL Draft Scout, January 19, 2009, retrieved January 27, 2009.
  7. NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Mike Wallace
  8. Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers - Recap - December 20, 2009 - ESPN
  9. Farrior and Wallace Earn Steelers’ 2009 Pro Football Writers Awards
  10. NFL Game Center: Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers - 2009 Week 15
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Bouchette, Ed (January 5, 2011). "On the Steelers: Quick hits". postgazette.com. PG Publishing Co.. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11005/1115570-66.stm#ixzz1AQk3QaxN. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
  12. http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/21383/its-mike-wallaces-time-in-pittsburgh
  13. http://www.fox40tv.com/content/sports/story/Ex-Rebs-Wallace-Willis-Manning-Make-Pro-Bowl/_LtxlSIem0KaDnW0ljcWnQ.cspx
  14. "Sources: Mike Wallace to Miami". ESPN.com. March 12, 2013. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9044521/sources-mike-wallace-miami-dolphins-negotiating-5-year-deal.
  15. [1]

External links[]

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