Welcome to the Orlando Sports Weekly Rundown, I'm David Baumann.
Now that the NFL regular season is upon us, so now's a great time to check up on some the biggest NFL stars to come out of Orlando.
Brandon Marshall, Wide Receiver, New York Giants: Now in his 12th season, from Lake Howell HS and University of Central Florida, Brandon Marshall is approaching 1,000 receptions for his NFL career. He entered the season with 941 receptions for 12,061 yards and 82 TDs. Those are potential Hall of Fame statistics. By comparison, the great Lynn Swann had 366 receptions for 5,462 yards and 51 TDs (albeit, it was a different style of football back then).
Chris Johnson, Running Back, Arizona Cardinals: I spoke to the former Olympia HS star on Wednesday this week and he confirmed to me that he has, in fact, re-signed with the Cardinals. Lead back David Johnson went down to a severe wrist injury Sunday, which opened the door for Johnson to re-sign. CJ2K's best season was 2009-10 in Tennesse when he rushed for 2,026 yards -- becoming only the sixth NFL player to ever top 2,000 yards in a single season. I asked Chris, "Are you excited about getting back in the mix in Arizona?" His reply: "U kno it!"
Haha Clinton-Dix, Safety, Green Bay Packers: Entering his 4th NFL season, the former Edgewater HS star is fresh off his first Pro Bowl season. He had a career-high 5 interceptions last year and looks to build on that. The Packers picked up the 5th-year option on Clinton-Dix's contract, locking him in through 2017-18.
Mike Gillislee, Running Back, New England Patriots: The former DeLand and Florida Gators star got off to a great start with his new team this year. Gillislee scored three touchdowns in his Patriots debut and rushed for 45 yards on 15 carries. Meanwhile all Buffalo Bills fans can do is shake their heads in disgust that their franchise chose NOT to match New England's $6.4M offer for Gillislee in the offseason. Buffalo essentially serves as a farm team for New England. Gillislee could have a career-best year.
Blake Bortles, Quarterback, Jacksonville Jaguars: Bortles got off to a decent start in the first regular season game this year for the Jags. The Oviedo native didn't do anything too flashy, throwing 11-21 for 125 yards and 1 touchdown. More importantly, Bortles didn't turn the ball over. 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles. That'll help him keep his job as the starter. It may be a struggle for Bortles in the weeks ahead after losing #1 wide receiver Allen Robinson to an ACL tear. Hopefully some up-and-coming players will produce in A-Rob's absence. In Wednesday's weekly press conference Bortles said, "Allen is a special player... That's a big miss and I think he gives guys an opportunity to step up."
Justin McCray, Offensive Line, Green Bay Packers: There's no question that McCray's attempt to make the Packers 53-man active roster this year was highly unlikely. In fact, a report on Packers.com says "Justin faced perhaps the longest odds of anybody on the Packers 90-man roster this summer." After graduating from UCF in 2013, it's been quite a journey. He spent the 2014 season on the Tennessee Titans practice squad, but they released him in 2015. He had a few CFL and NFL tryouts that year but never got an offer. He then played for the now-defunct Orlando Predators in the Arena Football League. And after two years of working hard to get stronger, McCray finds himself on an NFL roster. One quick thing I'd like to mention is that I really enjoyed covering Justin and his brothers Jordan (his twin) and Cliff when they played for University of Central Florida . Great guys, great family.
Paxton Lynch, Quarterback, Denver Broncos: The former Deltona Trinity Christian QB was Denver's first-round draft pick in 2015. He started two games his rookie season, and there was rumor that he'd vie for the starting job this year, but he's riding the pine right now in Denver behind the guy I'm going to mention next...
Trevor Siemian, Quarterback, Denver Broncos, The former Olympia HS star had a solid opening week, throwing 17-28 (61%) for 219 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers 24-21. Siemian needs to continue to produce stat lines like that in order to solidify himself as the starter for the future.
Leonard Williams, Defensive Line, New York Jets: Williams is a beast. The 6'5", 305 lb. monster out of Daytona Beach's Mainland HS is one of the lone bright spots on the Jets otherwise lousy roster. Williams, a Pro-Bowler last year, was the 6th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft out of USC.
Tion Green, Running Back, Detroit Lions: I covered Tion's signing with the Cincinnati Bearcats when he was at Lake Brantley HS, and he was a delightful kid. I couldn't be happier that he made the Lions roster. He's a huge running back at 6', 230 lbs. His 74-yard touchdown against Buffalo in the preseason helped him stamp his name on the 53-man roster. Here was the play:
Orlando Sports Weekly Rundown With David Baumann: Football Stars From Orlando
Ray Ray Armstrong, Linebacker, San Francisco 49ers: It's shocking to me to think Ray Ray's been in the NFL for seven seasons. It seems like yesterday that he, Andre Debose and Dyron Dye were winning the State Championship for Sanford Seminole HS. Armstrong had six tackles in the opening week game against Carolina and could enjoy a breakout year for the 49ers. His career-high for tackles in a season is 21, and he's already about 30% of the way to that total after just one game.
Karl Joseph, Safety, Los Angeles Raiders: Joseph, a former Edgewater HS star, played in 12 games for the Raiders in his rookie season last year, starting nine. This year, he's a full time starter and he recorded nine tackles in the season opening win against Tennessee.
Keanu Neal, Safety, Atlanta Falcons: Neal, from South Sumter HS and Florida Gators is the Falcons starting safety. He recorded 106 tackles in his rookie year and forced five fumbles. He's still searching for his first career interception.
Pat DiMarco, Fullback, Buffalo Bills: DiMarco, formerly of Lake Brantley HS is in his sixth NFL season. His best year was 2015 when he started eight games for the Atlanta Falcons. He caught one pass for five yards in the Bills Week One win over the New York Jets.
Eric Weems, Kick Returner/Wide Receiver, Tennessee Titans: Weems is still doing his thing. At just 5'9", 195 lbs., Weems has made a career out of returning kicks and special teams. At 32, he's in his 11th NFL season. He made the Pro-Bowl in 2010. He continues making Bethune-Cookman and Seabreeze HS proud. Speaking of Seabreeze HS...
Sebastian Janikowski, Kicker, Los Angeles Raiders: Janikowski has spent his entire 17-year season with the Raiders. He's the longest tenured player in franchise history. The Seabreeze grad and former FSU kicker extraordinaire has a back injury right now, but could potentially return before the end of the year.
I apologize if I'm forgetting anyone, but that's the update for now.
I've always said that one of my favorite things about being a sportscaster is being able to see players who you covered in high school make it to the sports' biggest stage.
You can bet I'll be rooting for these guys on Sunday.
David Baumann is a Sports Columnist for 407area.com and can be heard Tuesdays from 7-9pm on EK Sports, 96.9 The Game FM/740 The Game AM.
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