Eugene Monroe

Eugene Monroe
No. 60  Baltimore Ravens
Position: Offensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: April 18, 1987
Place of birth: Plainfield, New Jersey
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight: 306 lb (139 kg)
Career information
High school: Plainfield (NJ)
College: Virginia
NFL draft: 2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
  • All-ACC First Team (2008)
  • All-ACC Honorable Mention (2007)
  • USA Today High School All-American (2004)
Career NFL statistics as of 2013
Games played: 76
Games started: 73
Stats at NFL.com

Eugene Christopher Monroe (born April 18, 1987) is an American football offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was selected eighth overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia.

High school career

Monroe played at Plainfield High School in Plainfield, New Jersey, where he was teammates with Donald Jones. A two-time first-team all-state lineman, Monroe went the final 25 games of his career without allowing a quarterback sack. After his senior season, Monroe participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, and was named a SuperPrep All-American, a Parade All-American, and All-USA by USA Today.

Regarded as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Monroe was ranked first among the top offensive tackle prospects in 2005.[1] “[Monroe] has everything: great footwork, balance, excels as both a run and pass blocker and is able to dominate in both the run and pass game. The perfect left tackle for some lucky college,” said Tom Lemming, ESPN recruiting analyst.[2] Monroe chose Virginia over offers from Florida State, Miami (FL), Nebraska, and Oklahoma, among others.

College career

As a true freshman at Virginia, Monroe played in every game and saw action at left tackle, as back-up to D'Brickashaw Ferguson, and right guard. In his sophomore year, he played in 12 games and started six games, splitting starting duties at left tackle with Zak Stair. As a junior in 2007, Monroe was honorable mention All-ACC selection after starting 11 games at left tackle, missing two games due to knee injury. He did not allowed a sack during the regular season and had 20 knockdown blocks during the regular season, according to Virginia coaches.

In 2008 Monroe was a Unanimous All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection and was voted the ACC's most outstanding blocker. He started all twelve games at left offensive tackle and registered a school season-record 105 knockdowns, according to the coaching staff and had blocking consistency grade of 88.42%.[3]

Professional career

2009 NFL Draft

Monroe was widely believed to be one of the top two offensive tackles available in the Draft (alongside Jason Smith).[4][5] Particularly praised for his pass blocking ability, Monroe drew comparisons to Walter Jones.[6] He was selected eighth overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars, a pick that was declared a "steal" by Sports Illustrated's Tony Pauline.[7] Monroe was the third offensive lineman from Virginia selected in the top 15 of an NFL draft in four years, following D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Branden Albert.

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BPWonderlic
6 ft 5¼ in 309 lb 5.18 s 1.75 s 2.96 s 4.79 s 7.86 s 28½ in 9 ft 2 in 23 reps24
All values from NFL Combine[8]

Jacksonville Jaguars

In an effort to rebuild their offensive line, the Jaguars selected Monroe and Eben Britton with their first two picks. Monroe was expected to compete with veteran free-agent acquisition Tra Thomas for the start at left tackle.[9] On August 14, 2009 the Jaguars agreed to a five-year deal with Monroe.

In the 2012 season, Monroe started all 16 games at left tackle for the team.

Baltimore Ravens

On October 1, 2013, the Jacksonville Jaguars traded Monroe to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for Baltimore's fourth- and fifth-round draft selections in the 2014 NFL Draft. His uniform number changed from 75 to 60 out of respect to Hall of Famer and former offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden.[10] On March 11, 2014, he resigned with the Ravens on a five year, $37.5M deal.[11] On September 24, 2014, Monroe underwent a minor knee surgery, which required 3–4 weeks to recover.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Offensive tackles 2005". Rivals.com. 2005-01-18. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  2. ↑ Three Named to All-American Game
  3. ↑ Virginia Cavaliers bio
  4. ↑ Brooks, Bucky (February 16, 2009), "'09 NFL draft: Top 10 OL prospects", Sports Illustrated, Monroe is undoubtedly the best tackle prospect at the position and should be the first offensive linemen taken on draft day.
  5. ↑ Fiutak, Pete (April 22, 2009), "2009 NFL Draft - The Offensive Tackles", College Football News, While Jason Smith might have the best all-around combination of skills and potential, Monroe is the most ready to start right now.
  6. ↑ Pro Football War Room: Eugene Monroe, SportingNews.com
  7. ↑ Pauline, Tony (April 26, 2009), "Steals and reaches from the 2009 NFL draft", Sports Illustrated
  8. ↑ Nawrocki, Nolan (April 21, 2009). "The Way We Hear It — draft edition". Pro Football Weekly website. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
  9. ↑ Wright, Michael C. (August 2, 2009), "Rookies to lead Jaguars' revival?", Florida Times-Union
  10. ↑ Crow, Alfie (October 2, 2013). "Eugene Monroe trade: Jaguars will get Ravens 4th and 5th round pick, per report". SBNation.com. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  11. ↑ Schefter, Adam. "Ravens re-signing OT Eugene Monroe to a five-year, $37.5M deal, per sources.". Twitter. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  12. ↑ Wilson, Aaron (September 24, 2014). "Eugene Monroe sidelined with knee injury, rookie James Hurst to start in his place". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 24, 2014.

External links