James Laurinaitis

James Laurinaitis

Laurinaitis with the St. Louis Rams in 2010
No. -- Free agent
Position:	Linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1986-12-03) December 3, 1986 (age 30)
Place of birth:	Wayzata, Minnesota
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	248 lb (112 kg)
Career information
High school:	Plymouth (MN) Wayzata
College:	Ohio State
NFL Draft:	2009 / Round: 2 / Pick: 35
Career history
St. Louis Rams (2009–2015) New Orleans Saints (2016)
Career highlights and awards
Lott Trophy (2008) 2× Jack Lambert Trophy (2007, 2008) 2× Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (2007, 2008) 4× Big Ten champion (2005–2008) 3× First-team All-Big Ten (2006–2008) 3× Consensus All-American (2006–2008) Butkus Award (2007) Bronko Nagurski Trophy (2006)
Career NFL statistics as of 2016
Tackles: 869 Sacks: 16.5 Interceptions: 10 Pass deflections: 35 Forced fumbles: 2 Player stats at NFL.com

James Richard Laurinaitis (born December 3, 1986) is an American football linebacker who last played for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he was a three-time consensus All-American and won numerous awards. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

Laurinaitis was born in Wayzata, Minnesota. He was raised in a family of athletes – his father Joe and two uncles (John and Marcus) were professional wrestlers. He attended Wayzata High School, and played high school football and hockey. He was touted as a potential second or third-round National Hockey League (NHL) draft pick, but teams didn't draft him because it was thought that he was more likely to pursue a football career. While he was a successful hockey player, having been named a team captain as a senior, football was arguably his best sport. He was named Defensive Mr. Football in Minnesota in 2004. That season, he helped lead his high school football team to the state championship game in Class 5A with 193 tackles, including 28 for loss and five sacks.

Laurinaitis attended Ohio State University, where he played for coach Jim Tressel's Ohio State Buckeyes football team from 2005 to 2008. As a true freshman in 2005, he played in all 12 games eventually reaching No. 2 on the depth chart at strong-side linebacker behind Bobby Carpenter. After Carpenter broke a leg on the first play from scrimmage in their rivalry game against Michigan, Laurinaitis played the rest of that game, and also started in their Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame. At the end of the 2006 regular season, Laurinaitis led the team in tackles (115) and interceptions (5), and also had 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.