Junior Seau
Junior Seau is an American football linebacker for the New England Patriots. Seau is notable for his 12 career Pro Bowl selections and 16 seasons for the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins. Seau retired in 2006 for four days, then signed a one-year contract with the New England Patriots to help their lack of linebackers at the start of the season. He officially re-signed with New England on May 21, 2007.
Seau attended Oceanside High School, and was a good student and a letterman in football, basketball, and track & field. As a football player, Seau was a starter at linebacker and tight end, and as a senior, he was named the Avocado League Offensive Player of the Year. In basketball , as a senior, he was named the California Interscholastic Federation San Diego Section Player of the Year. In track & field he was the
Avocado League Champion in the shot put.
Seau was an All-American at the University of Southern California and was the college teammate of quarterbacks Todd Marinovich and Rodney Peete and defensive back Mark Carrier, and was taken in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Bobby Beathard's Chargers as the 5th overall pick.
At USC, Seau wore number 55, a number also worn by current Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio, Chris Claiborne, Willie McGinest, and current USC linebacker Keith Rivers.
Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil". His well-known "Lightning Bolt" dance (after the Chargers' logo) and fist-pumping after his defensive plays was disliked by opposing teams, but well-liked by fans. He played in 12 straight Pro Bowls with the Chargers, and missed only two games in his first seven years of play. In every season with the team, he was the leading tackler. In 1991, he created the Seau Foundation, which raises money for drug awareness, child abuse prevention, and college scholarships. Seau also owns a clothing line, Say-Ow, as well as Seau's The Restaurant in Mission Valley, San Diego. In 1994, Seau assisted his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX, most notably by logging 16 tackles in the AFC Championship Game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In April of 2003 he was acquired via trade by the Miami Dolphins, where he had another strong season. But a torn pectoral muscle in 2004 ended his season prematurely and in 2005 he hurt his ankle to end his season.
On March 6, 2006, Seau was released from the Dolphins because of his injury troubles. His 16-year career includes 1,566 tackles, 1,239 solo, 327 assists, 52 sacks, 76 pass deflections, 15 interceptions, 210 interception return yards, 12 forced fumbles, 17 fumble recoveries, 66 return yards, and 1 touchdown, earning him 12 Pro Bowl invitations.
Seau announced his retirement on August 14th, 2006 after signing a one-day contract with the San Diego Chargers at an emotional press conference. He called his retirement a "graduation", because he was not going to stop working. He contended that he was merely moving on to the next phase of his life. However, he returned to football just four days later, signing with the Patriots for an undisclosed sum.
Seau sustained a broken forearm while tackling Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson for a loss on November 26, 2006. Benson's heel caught Seau's forearm as Seau was making the tackle. Seau was placed on the IR of the Patriots.
On May 21, 2007 The Boston Globe reported that Seau re-signed with the New England Patriots for the 2007 season. In September 2007 Seau was named one of the Patriots' seven captains.
Seau has worn number 55 in the NFL, as he did at USC. Since Seau's departure from the Chargers, no Chargers player has worn number 55. Moreover, when Seau joined the Patriots, he asked former Patriot and USC Trojan Willie McGinest for permission to wear the number in New England; McGinest granted his request.