Richard Owens
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| Richard Owens | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | November 4, 1980 |
| Place of birth | Middleburg, Florida |
| Position(s) | Fullback |
| College | University of Louisville |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2004–present | Minnesota Vikings |
Richard Owens (born November 4, 1980 in Middleburg, Florida) is a professional American football player who plays fullback for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. He is from the University of Louisville.
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[edit] High School
As a defensive lineman at Middleburgh High, he was a First-team All-Area tight end and 2nd-team All-Area. Owens caught 19 passes for 242 yards and recorded 46 tackles and 4 sacks as a senior, as well as averaging 14 yards per catch, had 51 tackles, 3 sacks, and 4 blocked kicks as a junior. He was selected to athletic director's honor roll in his final 2 years.
[edit] College
While majoring in sports administration, he played under former Vikings Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan at Louisville and joins fellow Vikings Mewelde Moore and Rod Davis from Conference USA. In 1999, he was redshirted as a freshman. The following year, he played in all 12 games with 3 starts. He was selected to Conference USA All-Freshman Team. Although he had just 1 catch, it went for a 10-yard TD in a shutout win over Grambling He also served as the team's backup longsnapper. In 2001, he played in 13 games, and had 3 catches on the season, 2 of which went for TDs, including a 9-yard TD pass against Southern Miss and a 22-yarder against TCU. In 2002, He appeared in all 13 games with starts in 6 of the last 7 games. He was ranked 6th on the team with a career-high 20 catches for 182 yards and 2 TDs. He caught a career-high 6 balls for 72 yards and a score against TCU in his first start of the season, and had 5 catches for 39 yards against Marshall in the GMAC Bowl. In his senior year, he played in all 13 games with 4 starts and finished 7th on the team with 12 catches for 121 yards and 3 TDs. Against Temple, he caught 2 passes for 12 yards and a TD. He also had 2 receptions for 23 yards and a TD at South Florida as well as grabbing 2 catches for 22 yards vs. Tulane. He also recorded a 7-yard TD reception at Cincinnati. Owens finished his career with 36 catches for 371 yards and 8 touchdowns, while also serving as the Cardinals' longsnapper.
[edit] Pro Career
In his 2 year career, he has accumulated 10 catches for 87 yards and no touchdowns. In 2004, Owens started 2 of the 8 games he played in. He caught 8 passes for 69 yards and made 3 special teams tackles. He joined DT Spencer Johnson and LS Cullen Loeffler as the only rookie free agents to make the opening-day roster in 2004 and was one of 8 Vikings rookies to start a 2004 regular-season game. He joined LS Cullen Loeffler as the only rookie free agents to see action in the season opener vs. Dallas, playing both special teams and TE. In the next week, he caught his 1st career passes, hauling in 3 receptions for 36 yards with a long of 18 in his Monday Night Football debut at Philadelphia. He started his 1st career game vs. Chicago, opening at HB and catching 2 passes for 16 yards. At Houston, he started his 2nd consecutive game, catching 3 passes for 17 yards in the 36-28 OT win.
[edit] Personal
He is married to his wife, Tina. Owens volunteered with the Salvation Army during 2004 season and has earned numerous state and national awards for his work with Toys for Tots, Habitat for Humanity, and FHA/HERO.
