Danny Amendola

Amendola in August 2009
No. 16     St. Louis Rams
Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: November 2, 1985 (1985-11-02) (age 24)
Place of birth: The Woodlands, Texas
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	Weight: 183 lb (83 kg)
Career information
College: Texas Tech
Undrafted in 2008
Debuted in 2009 for the St. Louis Rams
Career history
As player: Dallas Cowboys (2008)* Philadelphia Eagles (2009)* St. Louis Rams (2009–present) *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-Big 12 (2004) Honorable mention All-Big 12 (2005) Second-team All-Big 12 (2007)
Career NFL statistics as of 2009
Receptions	15
Receiving yards	128
Receiving TDs	0
Stats at NFL.com

Daniel Amendola (born November 2, 1985 in The Woodlands, Texas) is an American football wide receiver for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Texas Tech.

Amendola has also been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Contents 1 Early years 2 College career 3 Professional career 3.1 Pre-draft 3.2 Dallas Cowboys 3.3 Philadelphia Eagles 3.4 St. Louis Rams 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Early years

Ameondola attended The Woodlands High School in The Woodlands, Texas, under coach Weldon Willig.^[1] He completed his high school career by leading his team to its first ever Texas State championship game. Although they lost to North Shore High School, Amendola finished his senior season with 1,045 receiving yards, 129 rushing yards, and 8 touchdowns.^[2]

[edit] College career

Amendola finished his college career at Texas Tech with 204 receptions for 2,246 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also returned 116 punts for 1,283 yards and one TD, an 11.06 yards per return average ranking Amendola third all-time in school history in punt returns and yardage, behind only Wes Welker and Tyrone Thurman.^[3] Amendola's best year was his senior year, in which he was overshadowed by teammate Michael Crabtree, but still recorded 109 catches for 1,245 yards and 6 TDs.^[4]

During the 2005 season, Amendola made two memorable plays that led to Red Raider victories. The first was late in the 2005 game against Oklahoma. Tech was trailing. On fourth down, a Cody Hodges pass attempt was tipped, and Amendola made a leaping catch in traffic. He was tackled immediately and appeared to have been stopped just short of a first down. However, the spot was reviewed by the replay officials and the final spot of the ball resulted in a first down. The drive was kept alive and resulted in yet another disputed call—Taurean Henderson's stretch over the goal line on the final play of regulation, which gave the Red Raiders the victory over the Sooners.^[5]

Another game-changing play came when Amendola recovered the fumble from an intercepted pass during the final drive of the 2005 game against Nebraska. Tech needed a touchdown to win. Tech quarterback Cody Hodges' pass was tipped and intercepted. Instead of taking a knee to seal the victory, the Nebraska defender decided to run with the ball and had it stripped. Amendola dove for the loose ball and recovered it.^[6] Tech retained possession, resulting in a game-winning touchdown pass from Hodges to Joel Filani on fourth down with under 30 seconds remaining.^[7] Amendola graduated with a major in Communication Studies.^[1]

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Pre-draft

Pre-draft measureables
Height	Weight	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20 ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
5-10½ *	183 *	4.58 **	1.51 *	2.65 *	4.25 **	6.81 **	31½" *	8'07" *	13 *	27 *
*At NFL Combine **At Texas Tech Pro Day

Amendola has drawn numerous comparisons, including from Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach, to former Tech receiver Wes Welker, now with the New England Patriots,^[8][9] as the two have similar builds (Welker is 5'9", 185 lb, while Amendola is 5'11", 183 lb) and played the same positions at Tech (slot receiver and punt returner).^[10]

[edit] Dallas Cowboys

Amendola signed as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys on April 27, 2008.^[11] His attempt to make it pro was featured on the HBO special Hard Knocks.^[12] Amendola was cut by the Cowboys on August 30 and re-signed to the team's practice squad after clearing waivers.^{[13] [14][15]} He spent the entire 2008 regular season on the team's practice squad.

[edit] Philadelphia Eagles

After his contract expired with the Dallas Cowboys, Amendola was signed to the practice squad of the Philadelphia Eagles on January 6, 2009.^[16] Following the season, Amendola was re-signed to a future contract on January 19, 2009. He was waived during final cuts on September 5, 2009. He was re-signed to their practice squad on September 6, 2009.

[edit] St. Louis Rams

Amendola was signed off the Eagles practice squad by the St. Louis Rams on September 22, 2009.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Philadelphia Eagles bio
• Texas Tech Red Raiders bio