Roddy White
Sharod Lamor "Roddy" White is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as a wide receiver with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He played college football for the UAB Blazers, and was selected by the Falcons in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft.
Early life
White attended James Island High School in Charleston, South Carolina, and was a four-sport letterman and standout in football, baseball, soccer, and wrestling. In football, he was a two-time All-Lowcountry honoree, a two-time All-State honoree, and was also listed as one of the top receivers in the nation on Rivals.com. In wrestling, he was a two-time South Carolina state champion, often pinning his opponent in a move that was coined the "Shanaz".College career
White attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he was a standout wide receiver for the UAB Blazers football team. He caught 163 passes for 3,112 yards and 26 touchdowns in four seasons. He played under head coach Watson Brown while at UAB. White was inducted into the UAB Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.2001 season
As a freshman, White recorded meaningful statistics in six games. On October 13, against the Cincinnati Bearcats, he recorded his first collegiate touchdown. On December 12, against the Pitt Panthers, he had a season-high four receptions for 75 yards. Overall, in his freshman season, he recorded 14 receptions for 236 yards and two touchdowns.2002 season
As a sophomore, White saw an expanded role in the Blazers offense. On October 12, against the Houston Cougars, he recorded four receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown. In the next game against the Tulane Green Wave, he recorded five receptions for 66 yards and another touchdown. On November 16, he had a career-day against the East Carolina Pirates with eight receptions for 159 yards and a touchdown. Overall, in his sophomore season, he recorded 39 receptions for 580 yards and three touchdowns.2003 season
As a junior, White continued his productive college career with the Blazers. On September 4, against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, he recorded 10 receptions for 111 yards. On October 11, against the Cincinnati Bearcats, he had a breakout day with four receptions for 171 yards and two touchdowns. In the last three games of the season, he posted great results: 147 yards and two touchdowns against the Tulane Green Wave, 121 yards and a touchdown against the South Florida Bulls, and 54 yards and a touchdown against the Houston Cougars. Overall, in his junior season, he recorded 39 receptions for 844 yards and seven touchdowns.2004 season
As a senior, White had his best collegiate season statistically. On September 25, against the Memphis Tigers, he had eight receptions for 177 yards and three touchdowns. On October 9, against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, he had seven receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns. He had career day against the Tulane Green Wave on October 23, with 10 receptions for 253 yards and a touchdown, and it was his fifth straight game with a touchdown score. On November 13, against the Houston Cougars, he had eight receptions for 153 yards and two touchdowns. On November 27, against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, he had four receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown. White helped lead UAB to their first bowl game in school history. In the 2004 Hawaii Bowl, White caught six passes for 113 yards and a touchdown in the 59–40 loss to the Hawaii Warriors. He finished his senior season with 14 touchdowns on 71 receptions for a NCAA-leading 1,452 yards.College statistics
Professional career
Atlanta Falcons
2005 season
White was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft with the 27th overall pick. He was the sixth wide receiver to be selected that year.Although a high ankle sprain caused him to remain on the sidelines for much of the preseason, he recovered by Week 2 and was put on the team's roster. In Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings, he was inserted in the lineup as the No. 3 receiver. During the course of the game, he recorded 64 yards on 5 catches. However, during the rest of the season, his performance was generally spotty. He made a fantastic leaping catch over three defenders on a trick play against the New Orleans Saints during Week 14 for a 54-yard touchdown, but dropped a crucial touchdown catch the next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In spite of this, he still had 108 yards receiving in that game, the second-highest receiving total put up by a rookie wide receiver in 2005, only surpassed by Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Matt Jones. White ranked fifth among all rookie wide receivers in 2005 with 446 receiving yards.
2006 season
In the 2006 season, White appeared in all 16 games and started five. He had his best game of the season against the Dallas Cowboys where he had three receptions for 104 yards. His performance in his second season increased in comparison to his rookie season. He recorded 30 receptions for 505 yards in his second season.2007 season
On September 23, against the Carolina Panthers, White had seven receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown. A few weeks later, against the New Orleans Saints, he had eight receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown. On November 22, against the Indianapolis Colts, he had six receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown. In the next game, against the St. Louis Rams, he had 10 receptions for a season-high 146 yards and a touchdown. In the penultimate game of his third season, he had 12 receptions for 141 yards against the Arizona Cardinals.In a game against the New Orleans Saints, White showed his support for fellow Falcon Michael Vick by wearing a T-shirt that said "Free Mike Vick" and pulling up his jersey after scoring a touchdown. Earlier that day, Vick was sentenced to 23 months in jail on dogfighting charges. White was fined $10,000 by the league for his actions.
White became the first Falcon wide receiver since Terance Mathis in 1999 to reach 1,000 single-season receiving yards on December 23, 2007, against the Arizona Cardinals. He also finished tied for eighth among all NFL wide receivers in receiving yards in 2007 with 1,202 yards. He had six receiving touchdowns.
2008 season
On September 21, 2008, in Week 3, he put together his first solid performance of the season with five receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs. On October 5, he had eight receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown in Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers. He followed that up the next week, he had nine receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown against the Chicago Bears. The next week, he had eight receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns against the Philadelphia Eagles. On November 16, in Week 11, he had five receptions for 102 yards against the Denver Broncos. Two weeks later, on November 30, he had another great game with six receptions for 112 yards against the San Diego Chargers. On December 7, in Week 14, he had with best performance of the season with 10 receptions for 164 yards against the New Orleans Saints. On December 28, in the regular season finale, he had three receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown against the St. Louis Rams in the Week 17 finale.White and the Falcons made the playoffs in the 2008 season and met the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card Round. The Falcons fell by a score of 30–24 as White had 11 receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown.
White's 2008 season was an improvement over the previous year, finishing fourth in the NFL in receiving yards. He finished the year with 1,382 receiving yards, 88 receptions, and seven touchdowns. He broke Alfred Jenkins's team record of 1,358 receiving yards, which stood since 1981.
On December 16, 2008, White was named to the 2009 Pro Bowl, the first of his career, along with fellow Falcons running back Michael Turner.
2009 season
On July 31, 2009, White began a holdout, boycotting the 2009 training camp in an attempt at an early contract extension. On August 8, he signed a six-year, $48 million contract extension with $18.6 million guaranteed and $28 million over the first three years of the deal. The extension made him the fifth highest paid wide receiver in the league, behind Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald, Carolina's Steve Smith, Chicago's Brandon Marshall, and Houston's Andre Johnson.In Week 2, on September 20, he had six receptions for 53 yards and his first touchdown of the season against the Carolina Panthers. On October 11, White set the Falcons franchise record for single-game receiving yards in a game against the San Francisco 49ers. He had eight receptions for a career-high 210 yards as well as two touchdowns, one of which was for 90 yards. This record has been broken by Julio Jones, who recorded 300 yards against the Carolina Panthers in a game during the 2016–2017 season. On November 2, in Week 8, he broke 100 receiving yards again with four receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints. Over a month later, on December 6, he had nine receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13. The next week, he had eight receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills. He closed out the regular season on January 3, 2010, with six receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
White finished the 2009 season with 85 receptions, 1,153 yards, and a career-high 11 touchdowns. He became only the second Falcon player to record three straight 1,000 yard seasons. On January 26, 2010, White was selected to his second consecutive Pro Bowl.
2010 season
In the 2010 regular season opener, White had a career-high 13 receptions for 111 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Two games later, he had five receptions for 69 yards and his first touchdown of the season against the New Orleans Saints. The next week, he had seven receptions for 104 yards against the San Francisco 49ers. For the third straight week, he put up a solid performance with five receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns. On October 24, he had 11 receptions for 201 yards and two touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals. His performance against the Bengals was his second-career game with at least 200 receiving yards. He earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his game against Cincinnati. On November 11, in Week 10, he had 12 receptions for 138 yards and two touchdowns against the Baltimore Ravens. White earned First team All-Pro honors and a Pro Bowl nomination for the 2010 season.White and the Falcons made the playoffs in the 2010 season. In the Divisional Round, they fell to the Green Bay Packers 48–21 with White having six receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown.
In 2010, White led the NFL in receptions with 115 and the NFC in receiving yards with 1,389. He also had 10 touchdowns for the year. He was ranked 24th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2011.