Dorial Isaiah Green-Beckham (born April 12, 1993) 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

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

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 was selected by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

in the second round of the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

and 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 ...

for the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

until he was dismissed from the team in 2014. A two-time ''USA Today'' High School All-American (2010 and 2011) at Hillcrest High School in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

, Green-Beckham was the first wide receiver to be named ''USA Today'' Offensive Player of the Year since Andre Hastings in 1989. He was also the first wide receiver to ever win the

Hall Trophy The All-American Bowl Player of the Year award (formerly known as the Hall Trophy and U.S. Army Player of the Year award) has been awarded annually since 2000 to the most outstanding high school football player in the United States, comparable to ...

, awarded to the nation's best high school player.

Early life

Dorial Isaiah Green-Beckham was born on April 12, 1993. A native of

, he attended Hillcrest High School, where he was a three-sport star in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and track. In 2008, his freshman year, Green-Beckham caught 37 passes for 801 yards and 13

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. As a sophomore, he posted 66 catches for 1,616 yards and 23 touchdowns. As a junior in 2010, Green-Beckham was the

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

High School Football Junior of the Year after he had 78 receptions for 1,706 yards with 15 touchdowns. As a senior, Green-Beckham had 119 receptions for 2,233 yards with 24 touchdowns. In October, he became the nation's all-time high school receiving yards leader, a record broken on November 16, 2013, by Trey Quinn, a

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, fifth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the county seat, parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles (Louisiana), Lake Char ...

, receiver from

Barbe High School A.M. Barbe High School is a 5A public high school located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States. The correct pronunciation of the school's name is "barb", rather than "bar-bay" or "barb-ee". The students are offered a variety of Advanced Plac ...

. For his play he was named the ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' High School Athlete of the Year. He played in the 2012

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl (currently branded as the Navy All-American Bowl for sponsorship reasons) is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is p ...

. In addition to football, Green-Beckham was a talented track & field athlete. He was named the 2009–10 Gatorade Missouri Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year. As a sophomore in 2010, Green-Beckham captured the Missouri Class 4 State Track titles in the 100 meters and

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

, and also took second in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

. He ran a career-best time of 10.59 seconds in the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

at the 2010 Class 4 Sectional 3. He also had personal-bests of in the

and in the

. One of the most highly regarded football recruits of the class of 2012, Green-Beckham was listed as the number one overall prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. He was considered the third best by Scout.com,

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

, and

. In January 2012, he narrowed his college decision to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and he stated that he would make his decision on

National Signing Day National Signing Day has traditionally been the first day that a high school senior can sign a binding National Letter of Intent for a collegiate sport with a school that is a Division II member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

(February 1, 2012). In a nationally televised ceremony, Green-Beckham announced he would sign a national letter of intent to attend the University of Missouri. Said Green-Beckham of his decision, "just to stay home and have all those guys amily, friendscome out and see me as big. He picked Missouri over

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC)-rival

, also because offensive coordinator

Garrick McGee Garrick Ladell McGee (born April 6, 1973) is an American football coach and former player. He is the wide receivers coach at North Carolina. He was previously the quarterbacks coach at the University of Florida. McGee was the head football coach ...

, who had formed a strong relationship with Green-Beckham and his family, left the school in December 2011.

College career

Missouri

Receiving playing time as a

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

, Green-Beckham played the "X" receiver position in Missouri's offense, the same one prolific pass-catchers like Michael Egnew and Danario Alexander had thrived in during previous seasons. He appeared in the first five games of the season, registering five catches for 125 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown reception against

Central Florida Central Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, in ...

. Then came an arrest and suspension due to drug possession, causing Green-Beckham to miss the Vanderbilt and

game on October 6 and 13, respectively. Green-Beckham returned for the second half of the season on October 27 against

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, catching a season-high seven throws for 25 yards. In a 14–7 loss at

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, he totalled six catches for 75 yards. Then, in a four-overtime 51–48 win over

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, Green-Beckham had two catches, both for touchdowns, and for 35 yards. In the final minute of regulation, he caught a game-tying touchdown in the left corner of the end zone. Against

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

and

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, he added two and four catches, for 79 and 55 yards, respectively. For his freshman season, he had 28 receptions for 395 yards and a team-best five receiving touchdowns, which earned him honorable mention freshman

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors by ''

College Football News ''College Football News'' (''CFN'') is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis incl ...

''. In his sophomore season, Green-Beckham had 59 receptions with a 15-yard average and 12 touchdowns. In the

SEC championship game The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. For its first 32 seasons, the championship game pitted the Eastern Division regular season champion again ...

against Auburn, he caught six passes for 144 yards and two scores. His 27-yard catch set up Henry Josey's go-ahead score in the Cotton Bowl victory over

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

. On April 11, 2014, Green-Beckham was dismissed from Missouri due to legal troubles.

Oklahoma

After his dismissal from Missouri, Green-Beckham transferred to the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. As per NCAA transfer rules, Green-Beckham was required to sit out for the entire year. Green-Beckham attempted to post a waiver request in order to make him eligible to play for the year, but NCAA declined it. In January 2015, Green-Beckham announced he would be entering the

. During his time at Oklahoma, he spent his season on the scout team and didn't play a single down for the Sooners before declaring for the draft.

Statistics

''Source''

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

Green-Beckham was selected with the 40th overall pick in the second round of the

by the

. On June 1, 2015, the Titans signed Green-Beckham to a four-year, $5.6 million contract with $3.0 million guaranteed and a $2.3 million signing bonus. He made his first appearance with the Titans during their 2015 season opening victory over 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 ...

. The next game he made his first career catch on a 13-yard touchdown pass from

Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks footb ...

in a 28–14 loss at the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. On September 27, 2015, Green-Beckham became the third player in the Titan's history to score touchdowns on his first two NFL receptions. On October 25, 2015, he made his first career start in a 10–7 loss to the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. He made his second career start during a Week 9 matchup at the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, filling in for an injured

Kendall Wright Kendall Thomas Wright (born November 12, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Baylor Bears, earning All-American honors in 20 ...

and made five catches for 77-yards. During a Week 13 contest against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, Green-Beckham made five receptions for a season-high 119 receiving yards, including a 47-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. On December 20, 2015, he caught a season-high 6 passes for 113-yards in a 33–16 loss to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. As a rookie in 2015, Green-Beckham played 16 games with 549 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

Philadelphia Eagles

On August 16, 2016, Green-Beckham was traded to

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

in exchange for offensive tackle

Dennis Kelly Dennis Kelly is a British writer and producer. He has worked for theatre, television, and film. His play ''DNA'', published in 2007 and first performed in 2008, became a core set-text for GCSE in 2010 and has been studied by approximately 4 ...

. In the 2016 season with the Eagles, Green-Beckham appeared in 15 games with 392 receiving yards and two touchdowns. On June 30, 2017, he was waived by the Eagles.

Personal life

Green-Beckham was born as the third of six children born to Charmelle Green, a single mother, in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. He never knew his biological father, and lived in several foster homes before John Beckham, his high school coach, and his wife, Tracy, officially adopted him on December 30, 2009. The Beckhams had brought Green-Beckham and his younger brother Darnell into their home in 2006. The couple has one other child, a young daughter, with whom Green-Beckham is very close. Darnell Green-Beckham received treatment for

acute lymphoblastic leukemia Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the Lymphocyte, lymphoid line of blood cells characterized by the development of large numbers of lymphoblast, immature lymphocytes. Symptoms may include feeling tired, pale skin color, fever, ...

, but is currently in remission. Darnell had signed a letter of intent to play for Missouri, but decided to pursue a career in modeling instead.

Legal issues

On October 3, 2012, Green-Beckham and two other freshman teammates, linebacker Torey Boozer and receiver Levi Copelin, were arrested on marijuana charges by the University of Missouri police department after the three were found in possession of or less of

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

. They were suspended from the next game, October 6 against Vanderbilt.The case was resolved on October 16, 2012, when Green-Beckham entered a guilty plea to a reduced charge of trespassing in Columbia, Missouri Municipal Court. He was fined $200 plus court costs. On January 10, 2014, Green-Beckham was arrested again on a marijuana charge. Police found of marijuana in the car he was riding in. According to the ''

Springfield News-Leader The ''Springfield News-Leader'' is the predominant newspaper for the city of Springfield, Missouri, and covers the Ozarks. The ''News-Leader'' has a daily circulation of 32,363 and a Sunday circulation of 51,402 as of September 2013. Sunday si ...

'', Green-Beckham was originally arrested for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute following a traffic stop but was later released without charges, pending further investigation. Later evidence indicated the marijuana belonged to another passenger in the car. On April 11, 2014, Green-Beckham was dismissed from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

football team, following his prior drug-related problems and an incident in which he allegedly forced open an apartment door and pushed a woman down a flight of stairs. Green-Beckham was not charged in the last incident. Head coach

Gary Pinkel Gary Robin Pinkel (born April 27, 1952) is an American former college football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Toledo from 1991 to 2000 and the University of Missouri from 2001 to 2015, compiling career record o ...

said in a prepared statement, "This decision was made with the best interests of all involved in mind. Dorial's priority going forward needs to be focusing on getting the help he needs. As we have all along, we will continue to do everything we can to assist Dorial and his family. We care deeply about Dorial and his well-being, but hopefully he can benefit from a fresh start." On December 29, 2017, he was arrested for DWI in

, and pleaded guilty and was given probation. On December 20, 2018, he was arrested in Springfield on possession of a controlled substance (less than 35 grams of marijuana) and resisting arrest. On August 28, 2021, he was arrested in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, on four assault charges, property damage, and resisting arrest. On November 22, 2021, Green-Beckham was sentenced to 180 days in Greene County jail in

Greene County, Missouri Greene County is located in the southwest part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, its population was 298,915. making it the fourth most-populous county in Missouri and the most populous outside the Kansas City or Saint Loui ...

, for violation of probation.

References

External links

Oklahoma Sooners bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green-Beckham, Dorial 1993 births Living people Players of American football from St. Louis Sportspeople from Springfield, Missouri American football wide receivers Missouri Tigers football players Tennessee Titans players Philadelphia Eagles players 21st-century African-American sportsmen