Alonzo Brandon Ephraim (born November 8, 1981) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

and

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ar ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

. He played college football at

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

. Ephraim was originally signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

in 2003. In 2006, while with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

, he was suspended four games for violating the league's substance-abuse policy, after which he was waived by the Browns. On July 27, 2007, Ephraim signed with the All American Football League to play for

Team Alabama The All American Football League (AAFL) was a proposed professional american football minor league. The league, which was to combine a professional pay structure with the requirement that all players be college graduates, had originally been sche ...

when the league began play.

Early life

Ephraim attended

Wenonah High School Wenonah High School is a four-year public high school in Birmingham, Alabama. It is one of seven high schools in the Birmingham City School System. School colors are Old gold and white. The mascot is the Dragon. Wenonah competes in Alabama High ...

, where he played center on offense and

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 formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

on defense. He was also the starting center on the school's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team. He was on the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the short ...

teams as well. In 1998, as a senior he was selected as the Class 6A Offensive Lineman of the Year. He was a Super 12 (All-State) team Honorable Mention, along with future college teammates Dante Ellington and

Saleem Rasheed Saleem Abdul Rasheed (born June 15, 1981) is a former American and Canadian football linebacker. Rasheed played high school football at Shades Valley High School in Birmingham, Alabama. As a senior, he was named the state's Gatorade Player o ...

. When he graduated he had a 3.2

GPA Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

College career

Ephraim received interest from schools such as

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

Notre Dame Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part o ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

. In the end, he chose Alabama. As a true freshman, he appeared in just two games, for a total of 29 plays. He then played as a back-up for every game as a sophomore. He became a starter as a junior, and had 708 plays that season, the most among Alabama offensive linemen. He also recorded 118 knock-down blocks. He was a second-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

selection his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

year. He was also an All-SEC selection as a junior. As a senior, he was one of seven Alabama players selected as All-SEC. As a senior, he was named to the

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National Coll ...

watchlist.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Ephraim went unselected in the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. ...

. However, he signed as an

with the

and played in 16 games as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, he played in 13 games with two starts at right guard for the Eagles. He was released on April 28, 2005.

Miami Dolphins

On August 2, 2005, he signed with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...

. In his lone season with the Dolphins, he played in 13 games, with three starts.

Cleveland Browns

In 2006, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the

but was suspended for four games for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. He was waived after he completed his suspension. Over his four-year NFL career, he played in a total of 43 games.

New York Dragons

On April 24, 2008, Ephraim signed with the

New York Dragons The New York Dragons were a professional arena football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Dragons participated in the Arena Football League's (AFL) National Conference as a member of the Eastern Division. The team was founded in ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

and played in three games as a rookie.

All American Football League

At the

All American Football League The All American Football League (AAFL) was a proposed professional american football minor league. The league, which was to combine a professional pay structure with the requirement that all players be college graduates, had originally been sche ...

's national try-outs held on July 27, 2007, Ephraim, along with fellow Alabama alumni

Reggie Myles Reginald L. Myles is a former professional American football player who played defensive back for four seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals Career Myles played cornerback for the Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the i ...

and Marcus Spencer, signed with the league to play for

. However, the league postponed their inaugural season until 2009.

Notes

External links

New York Dragons bio

at Yahoo! Sports bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ephraim, Alonzo 1981 births Living people Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama American football centers Alabama Crimson Tide football players Philadelphia Eagles players Miami Dolphins players Cleveland Browns players New York Dragons players