Wes Welker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wes Welker | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | May 1, 1981 (age 25) |
| Place of birth |  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Position(s) | Wide receiver |
| College | Texas Tech |
| Stats | |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2004 2004-2006 2007-present |
San Diego Chargers Miami Dolphins New England Patriots |
Wes Welker (Born May 1, 1981 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is an American football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He played collegiately at Texas Tech.
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[edit] High school career
Welker started his football career at Heritage Hall High School in Oklahoma City. In 1998 he was named The Daily Oklahoman All-State Player of the Year, and Oklahoma State Player of the Year by USA Today. Welker was not recruited much as he was considered to be too small to play at the college level. However, after a recruit at Texas Tech backed out of his scholarship, it was offered to Welker.
[edit] College career
Welker last minute signing was a bonanza for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Welker became known as "The Natural" for his ability to make big plays in the biggest games. Over his 4 year career, he had 259 receptions for 3019 yards and 21 touchdowns. He carried the ball 79 times for 456 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also scored 8 touchdowns returning punts in his career, still tied for the NCAA record.[1] Wes Welker was a member of the Phi Delta Theta - TEXAS EPSILON chapter.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] 2004
After his senior season at Texas Tech, Welker went undrafted in the 2004 NFL Draft but ended up signing as a free agent with the San Diego Chargers. Despite making the team out of training camp, Welker was cut after the first week of the 2004 season and signed with the Miami Dolphins, where he was mostly used on special teams. The same season Welker became the second player in NFL history to return a kickoff and a punt, kick an extra point and a field goal, and make a tackle in the same game.
[edit] 2005
During training camp at the beginning of the 2005 season, Welker was promoted to the third wide receiver spot after Chris Chambers and Marty Booker. He finished the season with 29 receptions for 434 yards and no touchdowns. He also had 43 punt returns for 390 yards, a 9.1 average, and 61 kickoff returns for 1379 yards, a 22.6 average. These ranked 11th and 20th in the NFL, respectively.
[edit] 2006
After rumors that he would be cut during the preseason, Welker started off being the lone bright-spot of the struggling Miami Dolphins offense. Through 5 games, he netted a team-high 29 catches and team-high 299 yards. During Week 5, he was a huge target for back-up quarterback Joey Harrington, grabbing a career high 9 catches for 77 yards in the 20-10 loss to the New England Patriots. On the season, Welker had a team-best 67 receptions for 687 yards and one score. He returned 48 kickoffs for 1,048 yards (22.2 average) and 41 punts for 378 yards (9.2 average).
[edit] 2007
On March 5, the Dolphins traded Welker to the New England Patriots for second- and seventh-round picks in the 2007 NFL Draft.[2] The Patriots had originally planned to sign Welker, a restricted free agent, to an offer sheet which Miami would have had seven days to match. Had Miami not matched, they would have received only the Patriots' second-round pick as compensation.
[edit] Personal
-According to his profile at MiamiDolphins.com, which has since been taken down, he wants to pursue a career in coaching after he retires.
- Attended a Boston Celtics Basketball game on March 23rd with fellow Patriot teammates Larry Izzo, Dan Koppen, and Matt Cassell, and was interviewed by Willie "The Coach" Maye. He proceeded in entering the Premium seating and autographed a few items. Items he autographed include a Texas Longhorns hat, and a Texas A&M hat, which is somewhat ironic because his former college is Texas Tech.
