Ted Ginn Jr.


Theodore Ginn Jr. is an American former professional football player and coach who currently serves as the head coach for the Columbus Aviators of the United Football League. Ginn was a wide receiver for 14 seasons in the National Football League with the Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints, and Chicago Bears.
Ginn played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, and was selected by the Dolphins with the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft.

Early life

Ginn played for his father, Ted Ginn Sr., in high school at Glenville High School in Cleveland, Ohio, where he played defensive back, quarterback, and wide receiver for the football team. Ginn was selected as the 2004 USA Today Defensive Player of the Year, a 2004 Parade All-American, and named the 2004 SuperPrep National Defensive Player of the Year. He also participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl as a member of the East team, along with future Dolphins teammates Ryan Baker and Chad Henne, and was named the Most Valuable Player of the game.
Ginn intercepted eight passes as a senior, returning five of them for touchdowns. One of his interception returns went for a state-record 102-yard touchdown, while another went for a 98-yard score. Ted has two siblings, Tiffany Ginn and Jason Lucas in Akron, Ohio.

Track and field

In addition to football, Ginn was a standout track athlete for the Glenville track team. As a junior, he became the national champion in the 110 meter hurdles and recorded the best time in the nation as a senior when he won the state title for the second consecutive year. He captured the state title in the 200 meters in a time of 21.51 seconds, after posting a time of 21.44 seconds in the preliminary rounds. He also helped the track team to take the 4 x 400 metres relay crown in a time of 3:15.04 minutes. He was timed at 10.5 in the 100 meters as a high school junior. As a senior, he ran the 60 meter hurdles in 7.98 seconds, 200 meters in 21.16 seconds, 400 meters in 46.57 seconds and posted personal bests of 13.26w seconds and 13.40 seconds in the 39" 110 meter hurdles
Ohio State University track coach Russ Rogers recruited Ginn to run track, believing that he could qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics. However, his track career was put on hold in order to focus on football. He was timed at 10.2 in the 100 meters in his freshman year.

High school awards and honors

Ginn was recruited as a defensive back by Ohio State University.

2004 season

As a freshman, Ginn saw moderate playing time at wide receiver and finished the 2004 season with 25 receptions for 359 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground, led the nation with a 25.6 yards per punt return average, and returned four punts for touchdowns. One of the most memorable moments in his freshman season was in the 30–7 win over Indiana. A pass at the beginning of the first quarter was tipped by a diving Buster Larkins, only to be grabbed by Ginn. He then broke four tackles on his way to a 59-yard touchdown.

2005 season

Ginn was converted to wide receiver in his sophomore year of 2005, and was named a starter. He finished the season with 51 receptions for 803 yards and four touchdowns. He also returned 18 kickoffs for 532 yards, along with 25 punts for 250 yards.

2006 season

Entering the 2006 season, Ginn was considered by many to be a preseason candidate for the Heisman Trophy and the Biletnikoff Award. He was a second team All-American selection and finished as the Buckeyes top receiver with 59 catches for 781 yards, while adding another 706 yards and two touchdowns on special teams. Ginn returned the opening kickoff of the 2007 BCS National Championship Game for 93 yards and a touchdown. Ginn sprained his left foot when fellow Buckeye Roy Hall slid into him during the celebration following the touchdown and sat on his foot. He left the game soon after and didn't return.
Ginn finished his career at Ohio State with 135 receptions for 1,943 yards and 15 touchdowns in 37 games. He also rushed for 213 yards, returned 38 kickoffs for 1,012 yards, and gained 900 yards on 64 punt returns, the second highest total in Ohio State history. Overall, he gained 4,068 total yards and scored 26 touchdowns.
Ginn set a Big Ten record for most career punt return touchdowns with six.

Statistics

College awards and honors

  • 2004 First-team All-American as a returner by SI.com, Pro Football Weekly, and Rivals.com
  • 2005 Honorable mention All-Big Ten
  • 2005 First-team All-American as a returner by Rivals.com
  • 2006 First-team All-American as an All-Purpose player by Rivals.com
  • 2006 Second-team All-American as an All-Purpose player by AP
  • 2006 First-team All-Big Ten

    Professional career

Pre-draft

After having to bypass the field drills at the 2007 NFL combine and Ohio State's official pro day due to a lingering foot injury suffered in the 2007 BCS Title Game, Ginn reportedly ran between 4.37 and 4.45 in a private workout for NFL Scouts held on April 12, 2007. Preceding the workout it was reported that a healthy Ginn had been timed as great as 4.28 in individual team drills during his tenure at Ohio State. In addition, in a 2007 interview with Stack Magazine while discussing his own personal improvement in the 40 yard dash, Ginn himself suggests that he had been timed at a personal best of 4.22 in the 40 yard dash. In the interview, while discussing his improvement since training at one of Tim Robertson's facilities, Ginn states "...as far as my running, it's changed me a lot. When I first got here I was running like a 5.1 40, 5.2 40 to a 4.22".

Miami Dolphins

2007 season

Ginn was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Many were expecting the Dolphins to select Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn with the Dolphins in need of a quarterback, although they would end up drafting BYU quarterback John Beck in the second round. Although Ginn was considered the fastest, and one of the most athletic picks going into the draft, Miami's selection of Ginn was booed heavily by Dolphins fans at the draft and was criticized by football pundits and even teammates. Jason Taylor said he was in shock when Ginn was selected instead of Brady Quinn. Even Ginn himself was surprised by the pick. Saying "For sure when Brady Quinn was there, and you know Miami is hurting for a quarterback right now, and Brady Quinn is a great quarterback, to be in competition with him and for me to beat him out was good. I guess the coaches saw something in me that they liked."
Although Ginn wore #11 in the team's initial minicamp, it was announced he would wear #19 during the regular season to honor his father, who wore the number in high school.
Ginn eventually reached the end zone for the first time in Week 8 against the New York Giants on a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cleo Lemon.
In the second quarter of a November 18 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Ginn returned a Saverio Rocca punt 87 yards for a touchdown. It was Ginn's first career touchdown return and tied for the longest punt return in franchise history. Ginn, who had never had more than three receptions or 37 receiving yards in any game prior, also set career highs with four receptions for 52 yards against the Eagles. For his performance, Ginn beat out four other candidates for the Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week. He received 40 percent of the fan votes. Also, Ginn was voted by his peers as the third alternate to the 2007 Pro Bowl as a kick returner.
Ginn finished his rookie season with 34 receptions for 420 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 24 punt returns for 230 yards and a touchdown, 63 kick returns for 1,433 yards, four rushes for three yards, and three fumbles.

2008 season

At the start of the 2008 season, Ginn was removed from his return duties and was replaced as a starting wide-receiver. In the season-opening loss to the New York Jets, Ginn had two receptions for 17 yards, a rush for two yards, but also had a fumble. He had a breakout game in a win against the Buffalo Bills, totaling 175 yards on seven receptions, including a 64-yard reception. After scoring on a 40-yard end-around run and converting a crucial late-game fourth down play against the Oakland Raiders Ginn ended the season with 56 catches for 790 yards and two touchdowns, 32 kick returns for 657 yards and seven punt returns for 54 yards, two rushing touchdowns on five attempts for 73 yards, and five fumbles.

2009 season

Ginn started the 2009 season slowly by catching two passes in his first game against the Atlanta Falcons. Ginn then seemed to have a breakout game against the Indianapolis Colts on September 21, 2009, catching a career-high 11 passes for 108 yards. Although a career game, he was criticized for dropping two potential touchdown passes, one in the final minutes of the game. The next two games, Ginn dropped several passes and caught only one 4-yard pass and had a 22-yard run. In Week 5 against the rival New York Jets, Ginn had just two catches, but one was a 53-yard touchdown to help the Dolphins win. New Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne was hoped to improve Ginn's game. Ginn however continued to struggle in the passing game and was demoted to backup wide receiver after Week 7. Ginn said he was angry and embarrassed about the benching entering Week 8 against the rival New York Jets. Although Ginn caught no passes in the game, he was given full-time kickoff return duties, and took out his frustrations by tying an NFL record with two kickoff returns for touchdowns, one of 100 yards and the second of 101. Those touchdowns are the only two of that distance in the same game, and the first time a player returned two kickoffs in the same quarter since 1967. Ginn won special-teams player of the month for his efforts. The next game against the New England Patriots, Ginn again dropped several passes that included one in the fourth quarter during a last minute potentially game-tying drive. In the Week 10 game against Tampa Bay, Ginn had zero catches despite several attempts and was ineffective in the return game. Ginn would finish the year fourth in dropped passes.
For the 2009 season, Ginn had 1,826 all-purpose yards, including 1,324 return yards and 502 yards from scrimmage, with two fumbles.