Kristofer O'Dowd (born May 14, 1988) is a former American football center. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football for the University of Southern California.

Kristofer O'Dowd
refer to caption
O'Dowd makes the USC "V" for victory sign after a 2008 fall practice at USC
No. 60
Position:Center
Personal information
Born: (1988-05-14) May 14, 1988 (age 36)
Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:304 lb (138 kg)
Career information
High school:Tucson (AZ) Salpointe
College:Southern California
Undrafted:2011
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-Pac-10 (2008)
  • Second-team Sophomore All-American (2008)
  • USC Offensive Lineman of the year (2008)
Stats at Pro Football Reference

High school career

edit

O'Dowd's 2006 honors included Parade All-American, EA Sports All-American first-team, Super Prep All-American, Prep Star All-American, USA Today All-USA second-team, Super Prep Elite 50, Prep Star 100, Rivals.com 100, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-West, Scout.com All-West, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West first-team, Orange County Register Fab 15 first-team, Tacoma News-Tribune Western 100 and All-State as a senior offensive lineman at Salpointe Catholic High in Tucson (Ariz.). He was also invited to play in the 2007 U.S. Army All-American Bowl alongside fellow USC recruits Marc Tyler, Chris Galippo, and Everson Griffen. He recorded 90 pancake blocks in 2006. As a junior in 2005, he made the All-State first-team. He also attended Salpointe Catholic Highschool in Tucson, Arizona.[1]

College career

edit
 
O'Dowd celebrates a USC victory over Nebraska in 2007.

The 6-foot-5, 300-pound O'Dowd is the first true freshman in USC history to start a game at center for the Trojans. According to USC officials, the last true freshman to start an opener on the offensive line was guard Travis Claridge against Penn State in 1996. Guard Brad Budde was the only other true freshman offensive lineman to start a post-World War II opener. Budde played against Missouri in 1976.[2] His sophomore year, he was named to the 2008 First-team All-Pac-10.

He suffered a kneecap injury before the 2009 season, and had to sit out the opener against San Jose State; his spot was filled in by veteran tackle Jeff Byers.[3]

Professional career

edit

Arizona Cardinals

edit

Despite being considered the 3rd best Center prospect in the NFL draft,[4] O'Dowd was not selected in the 2011 NFL draft. He was signed as a free agent by the Arizona Cardinals.[5] He was released on September 2, 2011.

New York Jets

edit

The New York Jets signed O'Dowd on March 13, 2012.[6] He was waived on May 6, 2012.[7]

Seattle Seahawks

edit

O'Dowd was signed by the Seattle Seahawks on August 16, 2012.[8]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Player Bio: Kristoffer O'Dowd :: Football". Archived from the original on July 20, 2008. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
  2. ^ "Freshman will get start at center - Los Angeles Times". Archived from the original on September 11, 2005.
  3. ^ Klein, Gary (September 7, 2009). "Offensive linemen made presence felt". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  4. ^ "NFL Draft - 2011_C NFL Draft Prospects - CBSSports.com - NFLDraftScout.com". Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  5. ^ "Tucson's O'Dowd to sign with Cardinals | KVOA.com | Tucson, Arizona". Archived from the original on August 25, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  6. ^ Mehta, Manish (March 13, 2012). "NY Jets owner Woody Johnson says Gang Green 'passed' on Peyton Manning in favor of keeping Mark Sanchez". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
  7. ^ Vrentas, Jenny (May 6, 2012). "Jets sign QB Matt Simms, son of Phil Simms". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  8. ^ O'Neil, Danny (August 16, 2012). "Personnel matter: Seahawks add a center". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on August 18, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
edit