Adriel Jeremiah “A. J.” Green (born July 31, 1988) is an American football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was selected fourth overall by the Bengals in the 2011 NFL Draft. Green played college football at the University of Georgia. In his first season with the Bengals, Green made the 2012 Pro Bowl and became the first rookie receiver to make it since Anquan Boldin in 2003, with the Arizona Cardinals. The last Bengal rookie wide receiver to make the Pro Bowl was Cris Collinsworth in 1981.
Early years
Green was on the “juggling team” at his elementary school, Beech Hill Elementary School in Summerville, South Carolina telling The Atlanta Journal Constitution that he learned to juggle balls and props as early as second grade. Green said it helped his hand-eye coordination a lot from an early age. He’s able to juggle four balls and various props such as juggling clubs.[1]
[edit]High school career
Green attended Summerville High School in Summerville, South Carolina, where he played under coach John McKissick.
Green was widely considered to be one of the top football prospects of the 2008 high school class.[2][3] Standing 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) and 205 lb (93 kg). He earned All-State honors four times and was named by EA Sports the nation’s top sophomore player after catching 75 passes for 1,422 yards and 16 touchdowns in the 2006 season. He hauled in 57 passes for 1,217 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman. In his junior season, Green caught 60 passes for 1,203 yards and 14 touchdowns. Green was the only junior nominated to the 2006 USA Today All-American first team. He was also a member of the Rivals.com Junior All-America team.[4]
A. J. Green’s 5,373 career receiving yards rank second and his 279 career receptions rank fourth on the National Federation of High Schools’ football all-time career receiving records.[5]
In June 2006, Green was profiled by Sports Illustrated as part of its “Where Will They Be?” stories on potential future professional greats, alongside Peter Uihlein, John Tavares, Tyreke Evans, Elena Delle Donne, and others.[6] Sports Illustrated compared him to the then-Oakland Raiders wideout Randy Moss and predicted Green will be in the NFL by 2011.
Rivals.com ranked Green their No. 9 prospect for the high school class of 2008,[7] while Scout.com named Green their No. 10 prospect nationally.[8] He participated in the Under Armour All-America Game.
Green was also on the Summerville High basketball team that claimed the 2007–2008 South Carolina state championship in a championship game against Spartanburg (S.C.) High. (Spartanburg made a 3/4 court shot at the end of the game, but the shot was disallowed by the referees after discussion). They had played in the memory of their fallen assistant coach, Captain Louis Mulkey (Engine 15) of the Charleston, SC F.D., who died along with eight other firefighters in the June 18, 2007, Charleston Sofa Super Store fire. The story of the Summerville High team was featured on SportsCenter on December 2, 2008.
[edit]College career
Green verbally committed to attend the University of Georgia in October 2006.[9] He made his commitment official by signing a letter of intent to play at Georgia on February 6, 2008.[10]
[edit]2008 season
In the fourth game of his college career, against Arizona State, Green had 8 catches for 159 yards and a touchdown. For this, he was named SEC Player of the Week.[11] He finished the 2008 season with 56 catches for 963 yards and 8 touchdowns, all Georgia freshman school records. He also led the SEC in receiving yards, with the third-highest total in UGA school history. He was named second-team All-SEC and Freshman of the Year by the SEC coaches, and was named to the Associated Press All-SEC first team. He was not named to any national All-American teams.
[edit]2009 season
Green ended the 2009 regular season with 47 catches for 751 yards and 6 touchdowns, despite being injured the last three games of the season.
Green returned from injury for the 2009 Independence Bowl, December 28, 2009 in Shreveport, LA where he made 6 catches totaling 57 yards.[12]
[edit]2010 season
Green was suspended for the first four games of the 2010 regular season after he admitted to selling his 2009 Independence Bowl Jersey for $1,000 to former North Carolina defensive back Chris Hawkins, who the NCAA described as an agent or someone who markets amateur athletes.[13][14] As part of his punishment, Green was required to repay $1,000 to a charity.[13] Despite missing the first four games, Green finished the season with a team high 57 catches for 848 yards and nine touchdowns.[15]
On January 9, 2011, Green officially declared for the 2011 NFL Draft.[15] He finished his three seasons at Georgia with 166 receptions for 2,619 yards and 23 touchdowns.
[edit]Professional career
[edit]Pre-draft
| Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3⅝ in | 211 lb | 34⅜ in | 9½ in | 4.48 s | 1.55 s | 2.53 s | 4.21 s | 6.91 s | 34½ in | 10 ft 6 in | 18 reps | ||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[16] | |||||||||||||||||||
[edit]Cincinnati Bengals
Green was selected fourth overall in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. On July 28, 2011, Green agreed to a four-year contract with the Cincinnati Bengals worth $19.6 million.
Green’s first NFL reception was a 41-yard touchdown catch against their in-state rival, the Cleveland Browns. By the end of his rookie season, Green recorded four 100-yard games and led all NFL rookies in receptions and receiving yards, catching 65 passes for 1,057 yards in 15 games. His seven touchdown receptions was second among rookies – one behind Julio Jones. On December 18, 2011, Green and fellow rookie QB Andy Dalton surpassed the all-time NFL record for yards and receptions by a rookie QB/WR tandem.[17] One week later on December 24, 2011, Green’s 1,031 yards surpassed Cris Collinsworth’s franchise record of 1,009 yards set in 1981 for most receiving yards by a rookie. Collinsworth still holds the franchise record for most receptions by a rookie with 67.[18][19]
After signing with the Cincinnati Bengals, Green became a member of School of the Legends (SOTL) in 2011.[20] Green was featured in the 2011 NFLPA Rookie Debut “One Team” Celebration which streamed live on YouTube from New York City’s Cipriani Wall Street. The event was produced by SOTL, a licensed partner of the NFLPA, and employed YouTube’s live streaming platform.[citation needed]
In the third game of the 2012 regular season, Green caught 9 passes for a career-high 183 yards in a 38-31 win over the Washington Redskins.
