Cameron Heyward

Cameron Heyward

refer to caption

Heyward in 2012
No. 97 Pittsburgh Steelers
Position: Defensive end
Personal information
Date of birth: (1989-05-06) May 6, 1989
Place of birth: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight: 295 lb (134 kg)
Career information
High school: Suwanee (GA) Peachtree Ridge
College: Ohio State
NFL Draft: 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 31
Career history
Roster status: Injured-reserve
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2016
Total tackles: 218
Sacks: 25.0
Forced fumbles: 2
Pass deflections: 18
Player stats at NFL.com

Cameron Phillips Heyward (born May 6, 1989) is an American football defensive end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Ohio State.

High school career

Heyward attended Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee, Georgia, where he played for the Peachtree Ridge Lions high school football team. He was the 2006 Georgia Class 5A Defensive Player of the Year. The team tied for the Georgia Class 5A State Championship that same year. He totaled over 100 tackles and 16 sacks as a Senior. He was considered the 7th best football player in Georgia, and the 13th best defensive tackle in the nation by Scout.com.[1] He benched 335 pounds and squatted 510 pounds, and was considered a scholar athlete at Peachtree Ridge High School with a GPA of 3.2.

College career

As a true freshman in 2007, Heyward was named a freshman All-American by Sporting News, Rivals.com and Scout.com after recording 30 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 2 passes broken up. The Ohio State Buckeyes went to the BCS National Championships with Heyward as a freshman, losing to Louisiana State University 38 to 24.

In 2008, he recorded 36 tackles and three sacks. The Buckeyes made it to another bowl game in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl against Texas, losing 24 to 21.

As a junior, in 2009, he had 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks, leading the Ohio State Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl, in which the Buckeyes won 26 to 17 against Oregon. Following his junior season, Heyward decided against declaring for the NFL Draft, instead returning for his senior season with the Buckeyes.[2]

Heyward amassed 48 total tackles and 3.5 sacks in his senior season, returning an interception for a career high 80 yards against Miami. He led the Buckeyes to a berth in the Allstate 2011 Sugar Bowl, beating the Arkansas Razorbacks 31 to 26.

Heyward finished his career at Ohio State with 162 tackles, 31 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, and one interception.[3]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Ht WtArm lengthHand size 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP
6 ft 4⅝ in 294 lb34¼ in10⅛ in 4.95 s 35 in 30 reps
All values from NFL Combine[4][5]

Heyward was drafted in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft (31st overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers. After wearing jersey number 95 during the pre-season of his rookie campaign, Heyward switched to number 97.

On July 29, 2011, Heyward signed a four-year $6.7M contract, that included a $3.3M signing bonus, and a team option for a fifth year at $6.9M.[6] On April 22, 2014, the Steelers exercised that option, which will keep Heyward in Pittsburgh through the 2015 season.[7]

In 2011, Heyward saw action in all 16 games, during which he had 11 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, a pass defensed, and he blocked a field goal. His first career sack was a strip sack of Tennessee Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.

In 2012, Heyward played in relief in all 16 games. He had 20 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

In 2013, Heyward became a full-time starter with the season's third game, replacing Ziggy Hood at left defensive end. He remained a starter for the final 13 games in which he finished second on the team (first among defensive linemen) with five sacks and led the defense with 31 quarterback pressures.[7] He also registered 59 tackles (two for a loss), a fumble recovery and seven passes defensed.

Heyward did not miss a single game due to injury during his first three seasons, which included 48 regular season games and one play-off contest.

On October 3, 2014, Heyward was fined $22,050 by the NFL for using abusive language towards an official during Week 4.

On July 16, 2015, Heyward signed a six-year $59.25M contract extension with the Steelers.[8]

On November 13, 2016, Heyward suffered a torn pectoral muscle during the Steelers loss to the Dallas Cowboys. It was announced two days later that he would be placed on injured-reserve and will miss the rest of the season.[9][10]

NFL stats

Year Team GP COMB TOTAL AST SACK FF FR FR YDS INT IR YDS AVG IR LNG TD PD
2011 PIT 16 11 10 1 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
2012 PIT 16 20 13 7 1.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2013 PIT 16 59 35 24 5.0 0 1 8 0 0 0 0 0 7
2014 PIT 16 53 33 20 7.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
Career 64 143 91 52 15.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 12

[11]

Personal

Heyward was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His late father Craig "Ironhead" Heyward was a former NFL fullback.[12] His father died from cancer, and Cameron was fined by the NFL for uniform violations when he displayed his father's nickname in an eye black message during the NFL's 2015 Breast Cancer Awareness campaign. Cameron stated that being part of the NFL was a blessing and he wanted to honor his dad and raise cancer awareness.[13]

References

  1. ↑
    1. 97 cameron heyward. (2010). Retrieved from http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=8&c=1&nid=4860470
  2. ↑ Rittenberg, A. (2010). Heyward, Chekwa return to Ohio State. ESPN College Football, Retrieved from http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4799106
  3. ↑ http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/stats/_/id/235682/cameron-heyward ESPN stats page
  4. ↑ http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=68956&draftyear=2011&genpos=DE
  5. ↑ http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1243804
  6. ↑ Mihoces, Gary (July 29, 2011). "Steelers sign No. 1 pick Cameron Heyward". The Huddle (blog). USA Today. Archived from the original on April 23, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  7. 1 2 Bouchette, Ed (April 22, 2014). "Steelers exercise fifth-year option on Cam Heyward". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on April 23, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  8. ↑ http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000502238/article/cameron-heyward-signs-sixyear-deal-with-steelers
  9. ↑ "Steelers's DE Cameron Heyward out for season". Pittsburgh.CBSlocal.com. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  10. ↑ Varley, Teresa (November 19, 2016). "Dupree activated; Heyward, Wheaton to IR". Steelers.com.
  11. ↑ "Cameron Heyward Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  12. ↑ Heyward following in father’s footsteps
  13. ↑ Curtis, Charles (October 15, 2015). Son of N.J. legend Craig 'Ironhead' Heyward fined by NFL for cancer tribute to father. New Jersey On-Line LLC. Accessed on October 15, 2015.

External links

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