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James Farrior

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James Farrior
refer to caption
Farrior with the Steelers in 2006
No. 58, 51
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1975-01-06) January 6, 1975 (age 49)
Petersburg, Virginia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:243 lb (110 kg)
Career information
High school:Matoaca (Matoaca, Virginia)
College:Virginia
NFL draft:1997 / round: 1 / pick: 8
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:1,440
Sacks:35.5
Forced fumbles:18
Fumble recoveries:12
Interceptions:11
Defensive touchdowns:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

James Alfred Farrior [1] (born January 6, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers. He played with the New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers, and earned two Super Bowl rings with the Steelers (XL and XLIII).

Early life

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Farrior was born in Ettrick, Virginia. He was a Parade High School All-America selection and named Virginia's Group AA Co-Offensive Player of the Year as senior at Matoaca High School in his hometown and birthplace of Ettrick, Virginia. He was also selected first-team All-Conference at both FB and LB, also earned All-Metro and All-State honors, he was The Richmond Times-Dispatch co-Player of the Year after posting 78 tackles, 11 sacks, five blocked kicks, four forced fumbles and two interceptions, he rushed the ball 105 times for 1,006 (9.6 avg.) and 22 touchdown and had 19 receptions for 340 yards (17.9 avg.) and 4 touchdowns receiving as a senior fullback. He earned All-Metro, district and region honors as a junior, lettered three times in football, track and wrestling.

College career

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Farrior played for coach George Welsh's Virginia Cavaliers football team while attending the University of Virginia. During his career there, he racked up 381 tackles, ranking him third on the school's all-time list. In 1996 season, Farrior earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference first-team honors as a senior while registering 107 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, 7 passes defensed, and 6.5 sacks. He even played against his future head coach, Mike Tomlin, while Tomlin was a wide receiver at William & Mary.[2]

In 1995 season as a junior he earned All-ACC second-team honors after he started every game at LOLB and led the team in tackles (122 stops) and also had half sack, nine passes defensed and an interception. In 1994, he earned all-ACC honorable mention as a sophomore when he started every game at LOLB and finished second on the team in tackles with 100, 1 sack, a blocked punt, 4 interceptions and 6 passes defensed. During 1993, as a freshman he appeared in 10 games and had 52 tackles, placing him seventh on the team, despite not starting any games, he earned ACC Newcomer of the Week honors when he came off the bench to register 18 tackles vs. Ohio. He had seven tackles and a fumble recovery vs. Boston College in the Carquest Bowl.

He graduated in four years with a bachelor's degree in psychology.

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 1+3⁄4 in
(1.87 m) 		234 lb
(106 kg) 		32+5⁄8 in
(0.83 m) 		9+1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		 4.40 s 7.62 s 35.5 in
(0.90 m)		 10 ft 0 in
(3.05 m)		 22 reps
All values from NFL Combine[3]

New York Jets

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Farrior began his professional career in 1997 as the eighth overall pick in the first round for the New York Jets.[4] Until 2001, Farrior played sparingly as a reserve outside linebacker, playing in only 27 games from 1997 through 2000. In 2001, Farrior broke out and recorded 142 tackles, 106 of which were solo, one sack and two interceptions. After the 2001 season, the Jets allowed Farrior to leave via free agency, but his career exploded once he got to the Pittsburgh Steelers and was put back in his college position, ILB.

Pittsburgh Steelers

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In his first year with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Farrior recorded 82 tackles throughout 14 games. In 2003, he recorded 141 tackles and one interception. During the 2004 season, his third with the franchise, Farrior made 94 tackles, three sacks, and a career-high four interceptions. He also finished second behind Ed Reed for NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors. During the Pittsburgh Steelers 2005 campaign Farrior missed 2 games due to injury, but performed well in the 14 regular season games and 4 post-season games in which he appeared. His best regular season performance came in a week 3 loss to the New England Patriots, in which he recorded 9 tackles and 1 sack.[5] Farrior's best performance in the post-season came in the AFC Divisional playoffs against the Indianapolis Colts, where Farrior recorded 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks. He finished the season with 119 tackles and a Super Bowl ring. In 2006, he played in all 16 games and recorded 126 tackles, four sacks and one interception. Farrior finished the 2007 season with 94 tackles and 6.5 sacks, a career-high, along with one interception.[6] Entering the 2008 season, Farrior stated that he wished to remain a Steeler for the remainder of his career.[7][8] In August 2008, Farrior signed a five-year, US$18.25 million contract with the Steelers. The deal included a $5 million signing bonus.[9][10] At the end of the 2010 season, Farrior and the Steelers appeared in Super Bowl XLV against the Green Bay Packers. He was a starter in the game and recorded two total tackles in the 31–25 loss.[11] He was released on March 2, 2012. On September 25, 2020, it was announced that James is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers Class of 2020 Hall of Honor (aka Ring of Honor).

NFL statistics

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Legend
Won the Super Bowl
Bold Career high
Year Team GP COMB TOTAL AST SACK FF FR FR YDS INT IR YDS AVG IR LNG TD PD
1997 NYJ 16 71 53 18 1.5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1998 NYJ 12 27 17 10 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1999 NYJ 16 51 42 9 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
2000 NYJ 16 61 51 10 1.0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 5
2001 NYJ 16 145 109 36 1.0 3 0 0 2 84 42 47 0 9
2002 PIT 14 82 60 22 0.0 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 1
2003 PIT 16 141 96 45 0.0 0 1 0 1 9 9 9 0 4
2004 PIT 16 95 67 28 3.0 3 3 0 4 113 28 41 1 12
2005 PIT 14 121 76 45 2.0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
2006 PIT 16 128 85 43 4.0 2 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 6
2007 PIT 16 96 65 31 6.5 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 8
2008 PIT 16 133 89 44 3.5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
2009 PIT 16 102 68 34 3.0 1 1 1 1 18 18 18 0 5
2010 PIT 16 109 80 29 6.0 1 1 8 0 0 0 0 0 5
2011 PIT 14 78 54 24 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Career 230 1,440 1012 428 35.5 18 12 13 11 225 20 47 1 69

VA Hall of Fame Induction

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In 2016, Farrior was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in Portsmouth, Virginia. He was also a nominee for the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame. Farrior is a member of the Class of 2020 Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor.

Personal

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He is nicknamed "Potsie" by his parents, Rebecca and James Farrior, because he had a pot-belly as a child and because of the popularity of the sit-com Happy Days. Farrior has garnered several nicknames among fans, too; one being "The Ultimate Farrior", a play on words in reference to explosive WWF wrestler The Ultimate Warrior. He is the older brother of former NFL linebacker, Matt Farrior. In July 2012, Farrior wed. He and his wife, Iman, reside in Los Angeles, California.[12]

James and his brother Matt Farrior have been recognized for their charitable contributions and actions and have created their own foundation, The James Farrior Foundation. The foundation runs a variety of programs to assist those in need through all stages of life. The Impact 51 program provides guidance and mentoring for students, the Farrior Scholarship Fund provides college financial assistance to eligible students and the Families in Crisis program provides assistance in many forms to families in need.[13] In addition to their own organization, James and Matt work with the National Bone Marrow Registry. For these and other contributions to those less fortunate, the Farrior Foundation was given the Key to the City of Richmond, VA by Richmond's Mayor Dwight C. Jones in June 2009.[14] James Farrior is also a recipient of the Bravo award given by the Chesterfield Public Education Foundation which recognizes Extraordinary Alumni of the Chesterfield County Public Schools.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Farrior Pro Football Reference Profile". pro-football-reference.com.
  2. ^ Tomlin earns respect Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (January 30, 2009)
  3. ^ "James Farrior RAS". RAS.football. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  4. ^ "1997 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  5. ^ "Week 3: 2005 Season". Game Center. NFL.com. September 25, 2005. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
  6. ^ "James Farrior". Pittsburgh Steelers. NFL.com. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
  7. ^ Harris, John (July 19, 2008). "Steelers' Farrior wants to re-sign". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2008.
  8. ^ Smizik, Bob (August 22, 2008). "Gambling again on aging LB". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
  9. ^ Bouchette, Ed (August 21, 2008). "Steelers' Farrior agrees to new contract". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 21, 2008.
  10. ^ Harris, John (August 21, 2008). "Steelers sign Farrior through 2012". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved August 21, 2008.
  11. ^ "Super Bowl XLV - Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers - February 6th, 2011". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  12. ^ Cook, Ron (December 5, 2012). "Farrior at Peace with New Life Off the Field". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  13. ^ "James Farrior Foundation" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2011.
  14. ^ "Farrior Receives Key to Richmond". Richmond Times Dispatch. June 13, 2009. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  15. ^ "Chesterfield Public Education Foundation". Archived from the original on December 23, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
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