Marcus Stroud
refer to caption
Stroud in 2010
No. 99
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1978-06-25) June 25, 1978 (age 45)
Thomasville, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:310 lb (141 kg)
Career information
High school:Brooks County (Quitman, Georgia)
College:Georgia (1996–2000)
NFL draft:2001 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:424
Sacks:29.5
Forced fumbles:8
Fumble recoveries:6
Pass deflections:39
Player stats at NFL.com

Marcus LaVar Stroud (born June 25, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, and was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 13th overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft. He was a member of the NFL's Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots.

Early years

Stroud won a state title with Brooks County High School in 1994. He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1996 while still in high school which featured a cover story of National Signing Day.[1] Stroud, at the time a 6'6" 266-pound defensive end, originally gave Florida a verbal commitment but changed his mind after Bulldogs coach Ray Goff was fired in November 1995. After heavy pursuit from new Georgia coach Jim Donnan, Stroud switched and committed to the Bulldogs on Signing Day.[1]

College career

Stroud attended the University of Georgia, where he played for the Georgia Bulldogs football team. He played for Georgia during a major re-building era, in which coach Jim Donnan turned the program around from among the mediocre to averaging 8 wins per year, including four straight bowl game victories.

He was initiated as a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity while he was an undergraduate.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 6+1⁄8 in
(1.98 m) 		321 lb
(146 kg) 		34+1⁄2 in
(0.88 m) 		10 in
(0.25 m)		 5.10 s 1.76 s 2.96 s 4.72 s 8.07 s 30.0 in
(0.76 m)		 9 ft 2 in
(2.79 m)		 21 reps
All values from NFL Combine[2][3]

Jacksonville Jaguars

Stroud was selected 13th in the 2001 NFL Draft by the Jaguars.[4] The 2001 NFL Draft is considered by many experts to be the finest draft for defensive tackles in draft history, and Stroud was among the highest rated of the group that year. The 2001 class included fellow Pro Bowl selections Richard Seymour, Casey Hampton and Kris Jenkins.

He and John Henderson helped give the Jaguars one of the more dominant defensive tackles duos in the NFL.

During his Jacksonville days, Stroud had 22 sacks and 256 tackles while appearing in 100 games. Stroud also played in every Jaguars game for the first 5 years of his career.

Marcus Stroud was selected to the Pro Bowl following the 2003, 2004 and 2005 NFL seasons.

Stroud was suspended in 2007 for four games without pay for violating the league's policy on anabolic steroids and related substances.[5]

Buffalo Bills

On March 1, 2008 Stroud was traded to the Buffalo Bills for third- and fifth-round picks in the 2008 NFL Draft.[6]

Stroud was immediately deemed one of the key players to the Bills' 2008 season. Buffalo ranked 31st in total defense the year prior, and vaulted up to 14th in 2008, Stroud's first season there. The Bills got off to a strong start that year, going 5-1 in the first six games. They fell off towards the mid-season mark, however, and finished the year with a 7-9 record.[7]

On April 7, 2009, Stroud signed a two-year contract extension that paid $16 million and guaranteed $12 million. In combination with the existing terms of his contract, Stroud could've earned an additional $28 million over the following four seasons.[8] Stroud was released on February 16, 2011 by the Bills.

New England Patriots

On March 1, 2011 the New England Patriots signed defensive lineman Stroud to a two-year contract. He was released just under 5 months later on July 28.[9]

Retirement

In June 2012, Stroud signed a one-day contract with the Jaguars and announced his retirement. He became the fifth player to re-sign with Jacksonville before retiring, joining Tony Boselli, Fred Taylor, Paul Spicer and Donovin Darius.[10]

NFL statistics

Year Team GP Tackles Fumbles Interceptions
Comb Solo Ast Sack FF FR Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD
2001 JAX 16 25 21 4 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 3
2002 JAX 16 45 38 7 6.5 3 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 6
2003 JAX 16 65 47 18 4.5 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 3
2004 JAX 16 54 38 16 4.5 2 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 3
2005 JAX 16 42 31 11 1.0 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 4
2006 JAX 11 21 19 2 2.5 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
2007 JAX 9 22 19 3 3.0 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 2
2008 BUF 16 45 29 16 2.5 1 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 7
2009 BUF 15 56 38 18 2.0 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 8
2010 BUF 15 49 29 20 3.0 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2
Career[11] 146 424 309 115 29.5 8 6 0 0 0.0 0 0 39

Community

During his NFL days, Stroud founded the Marcus Stroud Charitable Foundation to assist underprivileged youth who lived in low-income, single-parent homes, according to its website, by establishing various academic and athletic programs otherwise unavailable to them. Additionally, Stroud hosts an annual football camp aimed to combat childhood obesity.

Stroud hosted the Marcus Stroud 99 Pro Bowl Football Camp For Kids in May 2009 at Brooks County's Veterans Stadium in Georgia. Several NFL players, including Mike Peterson and Verron Haynes of the Atlanta Falcons, and George Wilson, Donte Whitner, Kavika Mitchell, Marcus Buggs and Drayton Florence of the Buffalo Bills contributed to the free camp.[12][13][14]

Personal

Stroud has a passion for classic cars and eventually founded his own auto body business, DeciBels Auto Creations, in Jacksonville.[15]

Stroud escaped injury in 2005, when he rolled his SUV while driving on Florida's Interstate 10 outside of Jacksonville.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b Layden, Tim (February 19, 1996). "Sign Language". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on March 1, 2009.
  2. ^ "2001 Draft Scout Marcus Stroud, Georgia NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  3. ^ "Marcus Stroud, Combine Results, DT - Georgia". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  4. ^ "2001 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  5. ^ "Ultimate Jaguars Newsroom: Stroud receives four-game suspension from NFL". Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
  6. ^ "Jags trade Stroud to Bills for picks". Foxsports.com. March 1, 2008. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008. Retrieved March 1, 2008.
  7. ^ "How much will run defense improve?". BuffaloBills.com. July 9, 2008. Archived from the original on August 18, 2008. Retrieved July 9, 2008.
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 10, 2009. Retrieved April 7, 2009.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ Rosenthal, Gregg (July 28, 2011). "Release Tracker". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
  10. ^ "Former Jaguars, Bills DT Marcus Stroud retires". CNN. June 20, 2012.
  11. ^ "Marcus Stroud Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  12. ^ "Valdosta Daily Times - Stroud returns home, holds camp for local kids". www.valdostadailytimes.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  13. ^ "Inside The Bills - Stroud's football camp this weekend". Blogs.buffalobills.com. May 28, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  14. ^ "Coaches Corner - Marcus Stroud and Friends". Wctv.tv. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  15. ^ #Sacksonville [@Jaguars] (June 20, 2012). "Marcus Stroud owns Decibels Custom Audio in Jacksonville" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "Jags' Stroud escapes serious injury after rolling SUV - NFL - CBSSpor…". Archived from the original on January 18, 2013.
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