| No. 18 Cincinnati Bengals | |
| Wide receiver | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: July 31, 1988 | |
| Place of birth: Summerville, South Carolina | |
| Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | Weight: 211 lb (96 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: Georgia | |
| NFL Draft: 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4 | |
| Debuted in 2011 for the Cincinnati Bengals | |
| Career history | |
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| Roster status: Active | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2011 | |
| Receiving Yards | 1,057 |
| Receptions | 65 |
| Receiving TDs | 7 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
Adriel Jeremiah "A. J." Green (born July 31, 1988) is an American football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was selected fourth overall by the Bengals in the 2011 NFL Draft. Green played college football at the University of Georgia. In his first season with the Bengals, Green made the 2012 Pro Bowl and became the first rookie receiver to make it since Anquan Boldin in 2003, with the Arizona Cardinals. The last Bengal rookie wide receiver to make the Pro Bowl was Cris Collinsworth in 1981.
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Green was on the "juggling team" at his elementary school, telling The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he learned to juggle balls and props as early as second grade. Green said it helped his hand-eye coordination a lot from an early age. He's able to juggle four balls and various props such as juggling clubs.[1]
Green attended Summerville High School in Summerville, South Carolina, where he played under legendary coach John McKissick.
Green was widely considered to be one of the top football prospects of the 2008 high school class.[2][3] Standing 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) and 205 lb (93 kg). He earned All-State honors four times and was named by EA Sports the nation's top sophomore player after catching 75 passes for 1,422 yards and 16 touchdowns in the 2006 season. He hauled in 57 passes for 1,217 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman. In his junior season, Green caught 60 passes for 1,203 yards and 14 touchdowns. Green was the only junior nominated to the 2006 USA Today All-American first team. He was also a member of the Rivals.com Junior All-America team.[4]
A. J. Green's 5,373 career receiving yards rank second and his 279 career receptions rank fourth on the National Federation of High Schools’ football all-time career receiving records.[5]
In June 2006, Green was profiled by Sports Illustrated as part of its “Where Will They Be?” stories on potential future professional greats, alongside Peter Uihlein, John Tavares, Tyreke Evans, Elena Delle Donne, and others.[6] Sports Illustrated compared him to the then-Oakland Raiders wideout Randy Moss and predicted Green will be in the NFL by 2011.
Rivals.com ranked Green their #9 prospect for the high school class of 2008,[7] while Scout.com named Green their #10 prospect nationally.[8] He participated in the Under Armour All-America Game.
Green was also on the Summerville High basketball team that claimed the 2007–2008 South Carolina state championship in a championship game against Spartanburg (S.C.) High. (Spartanburg made a 3/4 court shot at the end of the game, but the shot was disallowed by the referees after discussion). They had played in the memory of their fallen assistant coach, Captain Louis Mulkey (Engine 15) of the Charleston, SC F.D., who died along with eight other firefighters in the June 18, 2007, Charleston Sofa Super Store fire. The story of the Summerville High team was featured on Sportscenter on December 2, 2008.
Green verbally committed to attend the University of Georgia in October 2006.[9] He made his commitment official by signing a letter of intent to play at Georgia on February 6, 2008.[10]
In the fourth game of his college career, against Arizona State, Green had 8 catches for 159 yards and a touchdown. For this, he was named SEC Player of the Week.[11] He finished the 2008 season with 56 catches for 963 yards and 8 touchdowns, all Georgia freshman school records. He also led the SEC in receiving yards, with the third-highest total in UGA school history. He was named second-team All-SEC and Freshman of the Year by the SEC coaches, and was named to the Associated Press All-SEC first team. He was not named to any national All-American teams.
Green ended the 2009 regular season with 47 catches for 751 yards and 6 touchdowns, despite being injured the last three games of the season.
Green returned from injury for the 2009 Independence Bowl, December 28, 2009 in Shreveport, LA where he made 6 catches totaling 57 yards.[12]
Green was suspended for the first four games of the 2010 regular season after he admitted to selling his 2009 Independence Bowl Jersey for $1,000 to former North Carolina defensive back Chris Hawkins, who the NCAA described as an agent or someone who markets amateur athletes.[13][14] As part of his punishment, Green was required to repay $1,000 to a charity.[13] Despite missing the first four games, Green finished the season with a team high 57 catches for 848 yards and nine touchdowns.[15]
On January 9, 2011, Green officially declared for the 2011 NFL Draft.[15]
Green was the fourth overall draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2011 NFL Draft. On July 28, 2011, Green came to terms with the Cincinnati Bengals on a four-year, fully guaranteed contract worth $19.6 million.
Green's first NFL reception was a 41-yard touchdown catch against the in-state rival Cleveland Browns, which ended up being his only reception of the game. The following week, he caught 10 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. By the end of the season, Green recorded four 100-yard games and lead all rookies in receptions and receiving yards, catching 65 passes for 1,057 yards in 15 games. His 7 touchdown receptions were the second highest rookie total in the league behind Julio Jones. He also became the second Bengals rookie ever to gain over 1,000 receiving yards, and the first since Cris Collinsworth in 1981. On December 18, 2011, Green and fellow rookie QB Andy Dalton surpassed the all-time NFL record for yards and receptions by a rookie QB/WR tandem. One week later, on December 24, 2011, Green surpassed Cris Collinsworth's record on most receiving yards by a rookie in Bengals history. Collinsworth held the Bengals record with 1,009 yards. [16]
| Season | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FUM | Lost | ||
| 2011 | Cincinnati Bengals | 15 | 15 | 65 | 1,057 | 16.3 | 58 | 7 | 5 | 53 | 10.6 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 15 | 15 | 65 | 1,057 | 16.3 | 58 | 7 | 5 | 53 | 10.6 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
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