Ryan Anthony Izzo (born December 21, 1995) is an American professional tight end who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida State, and was drafted by the New England Patriots in the 2018 NFL draft.
 Izzo with the New England Patriots in 2019 | |||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
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| Born: | December 21, 1995 Highland Lakes, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 255 lb (116 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Pope John XXIII Regional (Sparta, New Jersey) | ||||||||
| College: | Florida State (2014–2017) | ||||||||
| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2018 / round: 7 / pick: 250 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Early life
editIzzo grew up in the Highland Lakes of Vernon Township, New Jersey, and attended Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta, New Jersey. Izzo began his high school career at Vernon Township High School, where he anticipated playing tight end but ended up playing quarterback. He transferred to football powerhouse Pope John to play tight end.
Initially, he drew little attention from NCAA Division I football programs until Virginia Tech expressed interest and 20 other schools followed thereafter before he graduated in 2014.[1] As a senior, he tallied 766 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Along with football, he also played basketball. Izzo committed to play college football for the Florida State Seminoles on September 23, 2013.[2]
College career
editAs a redshirt freshman in 2015, Izzo played in all 13 of Florida State's games, catching 14 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 146 yards and one touchdown on 12 attempts.[3]
In 2016, Izzo once again played in all 13 games, catching 19 passes for 227 yards, tallying one touchdown.[4]
Prior to the 2017 season, Izzo was named to the John Mackey Award watch list.[5] As a redshirt junior, he played and started in all 13 games for Florida State, having 19 receptions for 306 yards and three touchdowns.[6]
After the season, Izzo declared for the 2018 NFL draft.[7]
Professional career
editNew England Patriots
editIzzo was drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round (250th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft.[8] On September 2, 2018, He was placed on injured reserve.[9] Without Izzo, the Patriots reached Super Bowl LIII where they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13–3.[10][11]
He made his NFL debut and had a three-yard reception in the Patriots' 2019 season-opening 33–3 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.[12] Izzo became the 73rd different player to catch a touchdown pass from Tom Brady, scoring on a 10-yard play in the Patriots' week 5 33–7 victory over the Washington Redskins.[13] Izzo missed multiple games in 2019 because of illness and various injuries including a concussion.
Izzo entered the 2020 season as the Patriots starting tight end. He started the first 12 games before being placed on injured reserve on December 10, 2020.[14]
Houston Texans
editOn March 18, 2021, Izzo was traded to the Houston Texans for a seventh round pick in the 2022 NFL draft.[15][16] He was waived on August 31, 2021.[17]
New York Giants
editOn September 3, 2021, Izzo signed with the practice squad of the New York Giants.[18] On September 21, 2021, Izzo was released from the practice squad.[19]
Seattle Seahawks
editOn September 29, 2021, Izzo was signed to the Seattle Seahawks practice squad.[20]
Tennessee Titans
editOn January 5, 2022, Izzo was signed by the Tennessee Titans off the Seahawks practice squad.[21] He was released on June 1, 2022.[22]
Carolina Panthers
editOn August 11, 2022, Izzo signed with the Carolina Panthers.[23] He was waived on August 17, 2022.[24]
Philadelphia Stars
editOn January 5, 2023, Izzo signed with the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League (USFL).[25] The Stars folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).[26]
Houston Roughnecks
editOn January 5, 2024, Izzo was selected by the Houston Roughnecks during the 2024 UFL dispersal draft.[27] He was released on March 10, 2024.[28]
References
edit- ^ Stein, Peter. "Sussex Seminole: Vernon resident, Pope John grad Ryan Izzo starts at TE for Florida State" Archived January 5, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Herald, September 9, 2015. Accessed January 4, 2018. "Vernon resident and 2014 Pope John graduate Ryan Izzo did start at tight end for Florida State and did catch a 13-yard touchdown pass from Golson in the Seminoles’ 59-16 victory over Texas State Saturday night at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla."
- ^ Kania, Joe (September 23, 2013). "Football: Ryan Izzo of Pope John commits to Florida State". NJ.com. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
- ^ "Ryan Izzo 2015 Player Statistics". cfbstats.com. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- ^ "Ryan Izzo 2016 Player Statistics". cfbstats.com. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- ^ Nee, Chris (July 11, 2017). "FSU tight end Ryan Izzo named to John Mackey Award Watch List". Noles247. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- ^ "Ryan Izzo 2017 Player Statistics". cfbstats.com. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- ^ "FSU's Ryan Izzo declares early for NFL Draft, Florida State very thin at tight end". Tomahawk Nation. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- ^ "2018 NFL draft: Patriots select TE Ryan Izzo with the 250th overall pick". PatsPulpit.com. April 28, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
- ^ "Patriots Sign Eight to the Practice Squad; Place TE Ryan Izzo on Injured Reserve". Patriots.com. September 2, 2018.
- ^ Kyed, Doug (February 14, 2019). "Hidden Patriots: New England Has Complete Tight End Waiting In The Wings".
- ^ Shpigel, Ben (February 4, 2019). "Patriots Win in Lowest-Scoring Super Bowl Ever". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots - September 8th, 2019". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ "Brady Makes History, Patriots Ride Dominant Second Half To 33-7 Victory Over Redskins". CBS Boston. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ "Patriots Activate TE Devin Asiasi to the 53-man Roster; Place TE Ryan Izzo on Injured Reserve". Patriots.com. December 10, 2020.
- ^ "Patriots Trade TE Ryan Izzo to Houston". Patriots.com. March 18, 2021. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- ^ Pelissero, Tom. "The #Patriots are trading TE Ryan Izzo to the #Texans for a seventh-round pick in 2022, per source". Twitter. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (8-31-2021)". HoustonTexans.com. August 31, 2021.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (September 3, 2021). "Giants sign TE Ryan Izzo to practice squad; WR Damion Willis released". Giants.com.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (September 21, 2021). "Giants sign DB Steven Parker to practice squad; TE Ryan Izzo released". Giants.com.
- ^ Boyle, John (September 29, 2021). "Seahawks Place TE Gerald Everett On Reserve/COVID-19 List, Sign Three To Practice Squad". Seahawks.com.
- ^ Wyatt, Jim (January 5, 2022). "Titans Add TE Ryan Izzo to Active Roster, DL Da'Shawn Hand to Practice Squad". TennesseeTitans.com.
- ^ Wyatt, Jim (June 1, 2022). "Titans Sign WR Juwan Green While Waiving TE Ryan Izzo". TennesseeTitans.com.
- ^ "Panthers add a pair of tight ends". Panthers.com. August 11, 2022.
- ^ Gantt, Darin (August 17, 2022). "Panthers sign linebacker Josh Watson". Panthers.com.
- ^ @USFLStars (January 5, 2023). "Free Agent Signings" (Tweet). Retrieved January 6, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Seifert, Kevin (January 1, 2024). "Newly formed United Football League sets 8 markets, tabs coaches". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
- ^ "UFL Dispersal Draft Results for Former XFL, USFL Teams". Sports Illustrated UFL on FanNation News, Analysis and More. January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
- ^ "UFL Teams Set their Training Camp Rosters to 58". UFLBoard.com. March 10, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.