Larry Eugene English Jr. (born January 22, 1986) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

and a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

as a linebacker for the

Northern Illinois Huskies The Northern Illinois Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Northern Illinois University (NIU). The Huskies are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I and the Mid-American Conference (M ...

and was selected by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

in the first round of the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...

. He also played for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

Early life

Marmion Academy Marmion Academy (formerly Marmion Military Academy) is a grade 9–12 Roman Catholic high school for boys in Aurora, Illinois, United States. It is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford. The academy is owned and operated by the Benedictin ...

, in

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in northeastern Illinois, United States. It is located along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River west of Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, second-most populous city in Illinois, with a popul ...

, English was named team co-captain, MVP, and First-team All- Suburban Catholic Conference both as a junior and senior. He made 98 tackles and six sacks while playing inside linebacker and as a running back he rushed for 312 yards on 38 carries (8.2 avg). As a junior, he had 100 tackles, and added two interceptions and two fumble recoveries during junior campaign. English lettered in football, basketball and track.

College career

English was a medical

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

in 2004 after playing in the first game of the season and sustaining an injury. The following season, 2005, he played 11 games, starting nine. He had 78 tackles with seven of them being for a loss. The next season, 2006, he was a First-team All-

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selection. Started all 13 games and tied school record with 12 sacks, while totaling 51 tackles and forcing four fumbles. In 2007, English was the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

's MVP and was a consensus choice First-team All-MAC and a Fourth-team All-American by

Phil Steele Phil Steele (c. 1960) is an American sportswriter and analyst who focuses exclusively on college and professional football. He is considered a "highly respected prognosticator" within the sports media. His company, Phil Steele Publications, pro ...

as he recorded 17 tackles for loss–which ranked 18th in the NCAA. Also in 2007 English had 10.5 sacks which led the conference. English also deflected two passes. As a senior (2008 Season) English again won the Vern Smith Award, given to the MAC's top player. Additionally, English was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year by the MAC News Media Association as well as

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. He led the Huskies with eight sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss and he was an All-MAC choice for the third consecutive season.

College statistics

Key: GP - games played; GS - games started; UA - unassisted tackles; AT - assisted tackles; TT - total tackles; T/L - tackles for a loss; Sacks - ; FF – Forced fumble ; FR – Fumbles recovered; PD - passes deflected; Int - interceptions

Professional career

Pre-draft

English scored a 34 on the aptitude assessment

Wonderlic Test The Wonderlic Contemporary Cognitive Ability Test (formerly the Wonderlic Personnel Test) is an assessment used to measure the cognitive ability and problem-solving aptitude of prospective employees for a range of occupations. The test was cr ...

at the 2009 NFL Draft Combine, one of the highest scores ever recorded for his position,

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...

, and the 9th highest score of the 2009 NFL Draft Class. With comparison to IQ, a Wonderlic Score of 34 suggests English has an IQ of 128, twenty-eight points above average. Picked 16th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft, English is the highest drafted player out of Northern Illinois.

San Diego Chargers

English was selected by the Chargers first round, 16th overall, in the

. English was a

in college, however, the Chargers indicated he will be an outside linebacker in the NFL."The more I learned about the 3-4 scheme and my abilities, the type of football player I am ... I think I will fit perfectly in it," said English. English had 23 tackles as a rookie, but suffered a foot fracture in the 2010 training camp and started just four games in total going into the 2013 season for the Chargers. English continued to struggle with injuries and poor play, missing 21 games and accumulating just 6 combined sacks between 2011 and 2013. He was released by the Chargers on July 22, 2014.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

English was signed by the

on August 14, 2014, He was cut by the team on August 29 and later re-signed again on September 9, 2014.

NFL statistics

Personal life

English served as the honorary chairman of the

American Lung Association The American Lung Association is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. History 1904–1918: Founding The organization was ...

inaugural Fight For Air Climb in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

on February 27, 2011. English, who has struggled with asthma since he was a child, stated: "As an individual living with asthma, I truly understand the challenges this disease presents." On May 19, 2017, English married model Nicole Williams, with whom he appeared on ''

WAGS Wag generally refers to tail wagging by dogs. Wag, Wags, WAG or WAGS may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Wag (band), a Japanese rock music group, active 1998–2006 * Wag, a character in ''Kabumpo in Oz'' (1922) * Wags the Dog, a m ...

'', a reality series about the romantic partners of athletes. In July 2022 the couple announced they were expecting their first child, and later welcomed a daughter, India Moon English. English plays a cameo role in the 2017 video game ''

Madden NFL 18 ''Madden NFL 18'' is an American football sports video game based on the National Football League, developed and published by EA Sports for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The 29th installment of the '' Madden NFL series'', the game features New Engl ...

'' "Longshot" story mode.

References

External links

San Diego Chargers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:English, Larry 1986 births Living people Players of American football from Aurora, Illinois American football linebackers American football defensive ends Northern Illinois Huskies football players San Diego Chargers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players