Thomas Duarte
 Duarte (No. 18) with UCLA in 2014 | |
| Position: | Tight end |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth: | March 30, 1995 |
| Place of birth: | Fullerton, California |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei |
| College: | UCLA |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Thomas James Duarte (born March 30, 1995)[1] is an American football tight end. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, and earned second-team all-conference honors in the Pac-12 as a junior in 2015. He decided to forego his final year of college to play professionally in the National Football League (NFL).
Early life
Duarte was born in Fullerton, California, in the Greater Los Angeles Area to Timothy and Deborah Duarte.[2] Growing up, Duarte was always big. At age 10, he was 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) and 120 pounds (54 kg). He played tackle football for a year against players who were three to four years older. However, he went back to playing flag football after the players his size entered high school, and he became too big to play Pop Warner football due to their weight restrictions.[3][4]
Duarte returned to tackle football as a high school freshman at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana.[4][5] As a senior, he had 58 receptions with 1,025 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns and averaged 18 yards a catch. He also played on defense at linebacker, and had 42 tackles, 10 quarterback sacks, three interceptions and a fumble recovery.[4] He was named Player of the Year by the Los Angeles Times and Offensive Player of the Year by The Orange County Register.[4][6]
The son of a Mexican-American father and Japanese-American mother,[7] Duarte was one of the rare high-profile college recruits to be of Asian descent.[3] He was rated a four-star prospect and capable of playing tight end, H-back, or wide receiver in college.[3][8] He decided to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), his mother's alma mater.[9]
College career
Duarte struggled with hamstring injuries during his first two seasons with the Bruins.[10] In his junior year in 2015, he was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection at tight end.[11] He finished the season with 53 receptions for 872 yards, and led the team with 10 touchdown catches. His 16.6 yards per reception was the highest among UCLA receivers with 10 or more catches. After the season, he opted to forego his final year of college eligibility and enter the 2016 NFL draft.[12]
References
- ↑ "2015 UCLA Bruins Football Media Guide". UCLA Bruins. 2015. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 16, 2016.
- ↑ "Thomas Duarte Bio". UCLABruins.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2016.
- 1 2 3 Maya, Adam (February 4, 2013). "Mater Dei's Duarte breaking the mold". OCVarsity.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Fryer, Steve (December 18, 2012). "Mater Dei's Duarte is offensive player of the year". OCVarsity.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2016.
- ↑ Muranaka, Gwen (June 27, 2013). "A New Son of Westwood". Rafu Shimpo. Archived from the original on January 26, 2016.
- ↑ Sonheimer, Eric (December 19, 2012). "Mater Dei's two-sided hit". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 16, 2015.
- ↑ Wang, Jack (November 25, 2013). "UCLA receiver Thomas Duarte proud of biracial heritage". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on January 16, 2016.
- ↑ Oliver, Brandon P. (October 8, 2012). "Calif. TE Thomas Duarte in no rush". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2015.
- ↑ Miller, Jeff (August 28, 2013). "Practice makes perfect for Bruins' Duarte". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on January 16, 2016.
- ↑ Foster, Chris (November 12, 2015). "There's always a catch with UCLA's Thomas Duarte". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 16, 2016.
- ↑ Gold, Jason (January 12, 2016). "Report: UCLA receiver Thomas Duarte declares for 2016 NFL Draft". FoxSports.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2016.
- ↑ Taylor, Johnson (January 13, 2016). "UCLA WR Thomas Duarte latest to leave early for NFL". NBCSports.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2016.