Mike Furrey

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Mike Furrey

Mike Furrey in action.
Detroit Lions — No. 87
Wide receiver
Date of birth: May 12, 1977 (1977-05-12) (age 31)
Place of birth: Galion, Ohio
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 205 lb (93 kg)
National Football League debut
2003 for the St. Louis Rams
Career history
College: Northern Iowa
Undrafted in 2000
 Teams:
*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
  • No notable achievements
Selected NFL statistics
(through Week 17 of the 2007 NFL season)
Receptions     180
Receiving Yards     1,947
Receiving TDs     7
Stats at NFL.com

Michael Thomas Furrey (pronounced /fur-REE/) (born May 12, 1977 in Galion, Ohio) is an American football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League.

Contents

[edit] High school

Furrey attended Hilliard High School in Hilliard, Ohio, and was a letter-winner in football, basketball, and baseball. In football, as a senior, he was a first team All-District honoree a first team All-Conference honoree, and a first team All-Ohio honoree. Michael Furrey graduated from Hilliard High School in 1995.

[edit] College

After high school, Furrey enrolled at Ohio State University in 1995, where he played in 9 games as a freshman walk-on. In 1996 he transferred to Division I-AA Northern Iowa. In his 3 years at UNI, Furrey set new Gateway Football Conference receiving records with career totals of 242 receptions for 3,544 yards and 27 touchdowns.

[edit] XFL

He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent for the Indianapolis Colts in 2000 but was waived at the end of training camp. He went on to play in the XFL football's only year of existence for the Las Vegas Outlaws. He finished the season with 18 receptions for 243 yards and one touchdown.

[edit] Arena Football League

Furrey played for the New York Dragons in 2002 and 2003 as a wide receiver/defensive back. He was leading the Arena Football League in receptions (108), receiving yards (1,574), receiving touchdowns (46, tying an AFL record for touchdowns in a single season), and points (288) when he left the Dragons on April 29, 2003 to sign with the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League.

[edit] St. Louis Rams

Furrey made the 2003 Rams roster and played in 13 games, serving as wide receiver and special teams ace. He played in 8 games and 2 playoff contests in 2004. Due to a lack of depth in the Rams' secondary before the 2005 season, Furrey converted to a free safety based on his experience in the AFL where players play both offense and defense. He became the starter in week 5. Furrey was successful in the transition, as he had one game winning interception 67 yard return for a touchdown, and the next week a game-clinching interception in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. At the end of the 2005 season, Furrey was released.

[edit] Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions signed Furrey to a one-year deal on April 4, 2006 as a wide receiver, being one of the few active players in the NFL to have started on both offense and defense in his career. Furrey has emerged as a solid option in the Lions offense, catching 98 passes for 1086 yards and 7 touchdowns through week 17. His 98 receptions for that season were the most for any player on the team, in the division, and in the conference, and 2nd best in the NFL.

On December 31, 2006, Furrey set the pro football record for most catches for a non-rookie after a season with 0 catches. He had 98 receptions at the end of the 2006 season (which was the most in the NFC for that year), after 0 in 2005. The previous record was 92 catches, set in 1960 by Lionel Taylor, playing for Denver in the AFL. [1]

After the 2006 season, Furrey was re-signed by the Lions to a new, three-year contract due to his breakout year. In the 2007 NFL Draft the Lions selected a Wide Receiver, Calvin Johnson, in the first round, the 2nd overall pick in the draft, making Furrey de-facto number three on the depth chart. Furrey would collect 61 catches for 664 yards in the 2007 season.

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ "Lions WR Furrey goes from 0 catches to 93". Associated Press. December 31, 2006. Found at http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2715655&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines.

[edit] External links