Tab Perry
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| Tab Perry | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | January 20, 1982 |
| Place of birth | Pennsylvania |
| Position(s) | Wide receiver/ Kick returner |
| College | UCLA |
| NFL Draft | 2005 / Round 6/ Pick 190 |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2005–present | Cincinnati Bengals |
Tab Wilson Perry (born January 20, 1982 in Pennsylvania) is an American football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL. He attended UCLA.
Played wide receiver and safety in High School wearing the jersey number 3. During his first three seasons at UCLA, played wide receiver and wore the jersey number 1 (because number 3 was already taken). Worked hard over the summer, attending classes at three small schools in between his junior and senior year, to remain eligible to play football at UCLA. Wore the number 3 for his senior year.
Tab was expected to go somewhere around the third to fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft, but fell to the Bengals in the sixth round. Most teams saw him primarily as a kick returner, because that was his specialty at UCLA (where he set numerous records). Wore the number 12 during preseason for the Bengals and during a short minicamp due to the late graduation date of UCLA.
Perry was used primarily as a kick returner for his first year with the Bengals. He earned special teams player of the week in a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers due in part to a long kick return that set up the game clinching touchdown. Wears the number 88 for the Bengals and is listed from as high as the third down to the fifth receiver for Cincinnati.
Perry finished the 2005 season with a franchise record 1,562 kickoff return yards, and 2 touchdowns on offense, assisting the team to an 11-5 record and their first playoff appearance in over a decade. Perry was also the starting returner for the Bengals in 2006, but he suffered a season ending injury in the second game of the year. There is speculation circulating that Perry's injury might be as serious as Bo Jackson's.
[edit] NFL career
2006-2007: Second-year pro played in Games 1-2, but suffered hip injury in Game 2, Sept. 17 vs. Cleveland and was inactive due to the injury for Games 3-5 … Placed on Reserve/Injured list Oct. 20 … For the season, finishes with 5 catches for 81 yards (16.2) and 4 kickoff returns for 17.3-yard avg. … On Sept. 10 at Kansas City, caught 2 passes for 44 yards … Had 3 catches for 37 yards Sept. 17 vs. Cleveland.
2005-2006: On offense, had four receptions for 21 yards with one TD, and three rushes for nine yards and one TD … His TDs came on eight-yard run with a shovel pass Nov. 6 at Baltimore, and on a two-yard rush Dec. 24 vs. Buffalo … Returned four kickoffs for 108 yards Sept. 11 at Cleveland, with a long of 50, in his NFL debut … Made his first NFL catch (13 yards) on Sept. 18 vs. Minnesota and led team in special teams tackles with three … Averaged 28.0 yards on two kickoff returns Sept. 25 at Chicago, including a 36-yarder to the 38-yard line to give the Bengals good field position in the fourth quarter after Chicago had scored to pull within 17-7 … Also at Chicago, forced a Bobby Wade fumble on punt coverage (Bears recovered) … Made second NFL catch Nov. 6 at Baltimore, running eight yards with a shovel pass from Carson Palmer to score second-quarter TD for 14-3 Bengals lead … Averaged 22.8 yards on 5 KOR on Dec. 11 vs. Cleveland, including 37-yarder to Browns 38 that helped set up Cincinnati’s game-winning FG drive … In division-clinching win Dec. 18 at Detroit, recovered R.W. McQuarters fumble at the Detroit 23 on the game’s opening kickoff, setting up a Bengals FG … Scored first Bengals TD on two-yard run Dec. 24 vs. Buffalo, lining up in the backfield and taking a toss from QB Carson Palmer … Averaged 23.8 yards on five KOR in Wild Card playoff 1-8-06 vs. Pittsburgh.
[edit] College Highlights
Played four seasons at UCLA (2000-02 and 2004) … Had only 22 catches as a senior in ‘04, but got 17 of those over his last six games after regaining his stride following an inactive 2003 season due to academic ineligibility … Had his most productive UCLA season in his junior campaign of ’02, playing 12 games with 10 starts and catching 35-for-698 for 19.9-yard avg. … Also averaged 25.0 yards on 25 kickoff returns as a junior, and his 626 total KO return yards broke the school record of 598 he had set as a freshman.
