Antwaan Randle El

At 44 years old, Antwaan Randle El has this physical status:

Antwaan Randle El (born August 17, 1979) is an American football coach and former player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons.

He is currently an offensive assistant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He attended Indiana University where he played college football for the Indiana Hoosiers, and also played basketball and baseball as well.

He is currently the sideline reporter for the Big Ten Network for interconference games that the Indiana football team plays. Following four years at Indiana, Randle El was chosen in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft, by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Playing with the Steelers for four seasons, he was active in all 64 regular season games with 23 starts, finding success as a wide receiver, kick returner and punt returner.

He was also instrumental in a number of trick plays, including throwing a touchdown pass as a wide receiver for the Steelers in Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks, the only wide receiver in Super Bowl history to do so.

After the 2005 NFL season, Randle El was signed as a free agent to the Washington Redskins.

As a receiver for the Redskins, he scored ten touchdowns, catching eight and throwing two.

In 2007, Randle El was sidelined for a game against the Buffalo Bills with a hamstring injury, to date being his only inactive game. Randle El was released by the Redskins in March 2010, re-signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers shortly after.

Randle El was also named fifth in USA Today's All-Decade kick returners.

Early years

Randle El was born in Riverdale, Illinois as the son of Curtis Randle El Sr., a food distributor, and Jacqueline, a day-care provider. Randle El was raised a Pentecostal Christian. A Chicago Bears fan, he attended Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Illinois, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He was a high school teammate of former NFL linebacker Napoleon Harris, as well as NBA center Melvin Ely and former NFL wide receiver Tai Streets.

After graduating from Thornton Township in 1997, Randle El was drafted in the 1997 Major League Baseball Draft, selected in the 14th round (424th overall) by the Chicago Cubs. He opted instead to pursue a football scholarship at Indiana University, despite being told he was too small during the recruiting process.

Personal life

Randle El's younger brother, Marcus, was a wide receiver and kick returner for the University of Wisconsin, while his older brother, Curtis, was a defensive back at Indiana University. Randle El is married to Jaune. The couple have four children. Randle El also has three children from previous relations. In total, he has seven children. He currently resides in Loudoun County, Virginia. Randle El is a Christian.

Randle El co-hosted Redskins Gameday on WTTG during the 2007 season. Randle El participated in the coverage of the 2008 NFC Divisional playoff game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles for NFL Network, holding an interview after the game with safety Brian Dawkins. The next week, he traveled to cover the AFC championship game between his former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Baltimore Ravens. After the game, he held interviews with some of his former teammates, including Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, and Hines Ward.

Randle El made several appearances in television commercials for Easterns Automotive Group, a local car dealership group on the DC and Baltimore areas, alongside Chris Cooley, Clinton Portis, Jason Campbell, Chief Zee, Santana Moss, Willis McGahee.

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College career

Randle Elbert played football for Indiana University from 1998 to 2001, primarily as a quarterback. He missed his first full academic year at Indiana due to a low SAT rating. Randle El completed 22-of-29 passing attempts for 385 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, as well as running for 82 yards on 23 carries for three touchdowns in Indiana's 1998 season opener against the Western Michigan Broncos. Randle El's 467 yards breaking the NCAA freshman total offense record in his first collegiate game, and the Hoosiers would win the game, 45–30. Randle El's appearance was also the third all-time highest passing yards in a single game for Indiana, and he would earn the co-Big Ten Player of the Week award. Randle El's rookie season will lead the team to victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes on October 17, 1998, with a rushing touchdown in the final seconds of the game. The victory came after a 62–0 loss to Iowa the previous season, making Indiana the first team in the Big Ten Conference to lose by more than 60 points in a single season and then beat them the next year. Randle El's second appearance in the Big Ten Player of the Week award will honor him for his second week. Randle El was named the winner of the 1998 Big Ten Freshman of the Year award, which was voted for by both Conference coaches and the media on December 1, 1998. The award was later renamed the "Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year" award, partially in honor of Randle El's academic accomplishments. Randle El tallied four 100-yard rushing games against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Michigan Wolverines, the Michigan State Spartans, and the Cincinnati Bearcats over the course of the 1998 season. He finished the season and his freshman year with 1,745 passing yards and six touchdowns, as well as 873 yards as a quarterback, breaking the Indiana University record.

Randle Elston, the first player in NCAA Division I, passed for 40 career touchdowns and 40 career rushing touchdowns while at Indiana. In 2001, he was named Silver Football by the Chicago Tribune in honor of the Most Valuable Player of the Big Ten Conference. He finished his college career as fifth on the all-time NCAA total yardage list and became the first player in college football to record 2,500 total yards in four years. In his senior season, he finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting, with 7,469 passing yards, 3,895 passing yards, and 92 touchdowns running and passing for his college career. Randle Elf's college career came to an end with a 26-15 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats, passing for two touchdowns.

Randle El's name was given to him by Penn State head coach Joe Paterno in 2000. "He is just the whole offense." It's scary to see him. He's so quick, that if you don't get to him and wait for him to pitch the ball, he'll take off on you. He's just an amazing performer. I'm not sure how to prepare for him.

Randle Elmore played varsity basketball under Hall of Fame head coach Bob Knight while attending Indiana. Following the 1998–99 Indiana basketball season, Randle El joined the 1998-99 Indiana basketball team. Randle El played 11 games for the basketball team in 1998-1999, averaging 1.5 points and 0.7 rebounds in 6.7 minutes per game. He played varsity baseball for Indiana University during the 2000 season.

Randle El was inducted into the Indiana Athletic Hall of Fame in November 2012.

Professional career

Randle El was drafted as a wide receiver in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft, earning the 62nd overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was the ninth wide receiver to be drafted in the 2002 NFL Draft. He was the Steelers' top kickoff returner from the 2004 season and their top punt returner. In the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XL, the Steelers were able to use him as a passer in a variety of trick plays, most notably a game-clinching reverse touchdown pass to Hines Ward. He was the third non-quarterback and the first and only wide receiver in NFL history to pass a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl.

Randle El signed a seven-year contract with the Washington Redskins, worth $31 million with $11.5 million in bonuses during the free agency period in March 2006. He had been in talks to sign a six-year, $18 million contract with the Chicago Bears, but negotiations fell apart after the first day of free agency. In the Redskins' Week 7 game against the Indianapolis Colts, he punt returned for a touchdown in the second quarter, and in Week 17, he passed for his first touchdown as a Redskin, finishing with a 48-yard pass to wide receiver Santana Moss. Randle El's career-high 162 yards in the Miami Dolphins' 2007 season opener.

In addition, he was the Redskins' emergency quarterback. Randle Ell was inactive in a loss to Buffalo in December 2007, after suffering a hamstring injury. This was his first game in his six-year NFL career, snapping a streak of 91 consecutive regular season starts.

Randle El was named in the Bleacher Report's All-Decade team for defense and special teams in January 2010 as a punt returner. He was also ranked fifth in USA Today's All-Decade Kick Returners. Randle El was one of ten players cut by the Redskins on March 4, 2010. The move came as a result of a string of personnel changes in Washington, including new head coach Mike Shanahan and executive vice president Mike Shanahan, who joined old offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan as part of the Redskin's depth chart and salary outgoings in anticipation of the 2010 free agency period. Randle El said he was "shocked" at the move, adding, "I'd be able to show them what you can do."

Randle Elmore signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on March 8, 2010 in a three-year contract worth $7 million plus a $900,000 signing bonus. He was in all 16 regular season games, with 22 receptions for 253 yards. Randle El was the team's top receiver with 50 yards and a season-longest 34-yard catch in a Week 4 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Randle El had a twelve-yard receiving touchdown thrown back by the Steelers bye week in a week six loss to the New Orleans Saints. Randle El threw for a touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Wallace in Week 9 of the Cincinnati Bengals, following Ben Roethlisberger's hand-off. This week, NFL.com dubbed it a "Can't Miss Play" of the week. Randle El threw for his second passing touchdown in the Steelers' last regular season game against the Cleveland Browns, assuaging Hines Ward. The pass improved his career passer rating of 157.5 from 21 out of a possible 26, the highest rating of any player with more than 20 completions. Randle El's conversion in Super Bowl XLV brought the Steelers to within three points of Green Bay in the fourth quarter. He was released by the team on July 28, 2011.

Randle El announced his retirement from professional football on July 13, 2012, despite not playing during the 2011 season. He took over athletic director at Virginia Academy in Ashburn, Virginia, a Christian high school that he helped found in 2013.

Randle El's regret about playing professional football in a series of memory loss and difficulty walking up and down stairs he has faced since retirement, as well as severe memory issues. He said he could still be playing baseball at his age if he had chosen the Chicago Cubs after being drafted.

Coaching career

Randle El joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' coaching staff as an offensive assistant on January 16, 2019, reuniting with his former wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. Randle El was a member of the Buccaneers' coaching staff when the Buccaneers team that defeated Super Bowl LV.

Randle El was hired by the Detroit Lions as their new wide receivers coach under Head Coach Dan Campbell on February 9, 2021.

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