Tyrell Sutton

Tyrell Sutton
No. --     Seattle Seahawks
Running back
Personal information
Date of birth: December 19, 1986 (1986-12-19) (age 25)
Place of birth: Akron, Ohio
Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Weight: 213 lb (97 kg)
Career information
College: Northwestern
Undrafted in 2009
Debuted in 2009 for the Carolina Panthers
Career history
*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
  • Big Ten Freshman of the Year (2005)
  • SN Freshman All-American (2005)
  • SN Off. Freshman of the Year (2005)
  • 3× Honorable mention All-Big Ten (2006–2008)
Career NFL statistics as of 2009
Rushing yards     68
Rushing average     5.7
Rushing TDs     0
Stats at NFL.com

Tyrell DelShawn Sutton, (born December 19, 1986 in Akron, Ohio) is an American football running back for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Northwestern.

He has also played for the Carolina Panthers.

Contents

Early years

Sutton was born to the parents of Connie and Anthony Sutton Sr. His brother, Tony, played football at The College of Wooster.

Sutton attended Archbishop Hoban High. While attending, he rushed for 9,426 yards, an Ohio record. Also, his career high of 505 yards is the third most in Ohio history. Furthermore, Sutton broke the school rushing record three times.

Awards

College career

While attending Northwestern University, he majored in Communications.

As a freshman, Sutton rushed for 1,474 yards and 16 touchdowns.[2] His rushing total was the third highest in Northwestern's history. He fell one game short of joining Emmit Smith, Marshall Faulk, and Adrian Peterson as the only NCAA freshman players to achieve 1,000 yards in 7 games.[3] In addition to rushing, he caught 44 passes for 396 yards and 2 touchdowns. His freshman year awards included the Sporting News' Offensive Freshman of the Year and First-Team Freshman All-American and Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

Although injured as a sophomore, he rushed for 1,000 yards and 5 touchdowns and caught 40 passes for 261 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was the team co-MVP and had an honorable mention at the All-Big Ten selection.

Because of a lower-leg injury early in his junior year, he played in only 5 games, and rushed for only 522 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 30 pass receptions for 282 yards.

As a senior, Sutton rushed for 776 yards and 6 touchdowns before a wrist injury sidelined him for the rest of the 2008 season. Sutton underwent surgery on October 28 and returned as the starting back for the Wildcats in the Alamo Bowl. He rushed for 114 yards in that game to bring his total to 890 yards. In addition, he caught 30 passes for 305 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Sutton concluded his career as the second all-time leading rusher at Northwestern with 3,886 yards, and second all-time with 5,138 all-purpose yards. Sutton is also the second player in Wildcat's history to achieve 1,000 receiving and rushing yards. Furthermore, his 149 receptions for 1,244 yards is the most for any back.[4]

Professional career

Pre-draft

Green Bay Packers

Though he was invited to the NFL Combine, he was not drafted. On May 1, 2009, the Green Bay Packers signed him as an undrafted free agent. On September 5, 2009, he was released when the Packers trimmed their roster to 53 players.[5]

Carolina Panthers

Although the Packers intended to re-sign Sutton to the practice squad if he cleared waivers, Sutton was claimed by the Carolina Panthers on September 6, 2009. He returned kick-offs for the Panthers, but was cut from the team on September 3, 2011[6]

Seattle Seahawks

On January 4, 2012, Sutton signed a reserve/future contract with the Seattle Seahawks.

References

2006 Northwestern Football Final Notes & Season Wrapup

External links