A. J. Cruz

Last updated

A.J. Cruz
A.J. Cruz.png
Cruz playing for the Arizona Rattlers
No. 89 – Edmonton Eskimos
Position: Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1991-02-20) February 20, 1991 (age 33)
Lake Forest, California, U.S.
Height:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school: Rancho Santa Margarita (CA) Catholic
College: Brown
Undrafted: 2013
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career Arena statistics
Receptions-Yds-TDs:32-244-6
Rushing-Yds-TDs:11-46-3
Tackles:66.0
Return yards:2,584
Return touchdowns:7
Player stats at ArenaFan.com

A. J. Cruz (born February 20, 1991) is an American professional football wide receiver who is currently a member of the Edmonton Eskimos. Cruz played college football for Brown University.

Contents

High school career

Cruz attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School, in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. He lettered in both football and basketball. As a football player, Cruz was named a two time All-Trinity League selection, and holds three school records for longest kick off return for a Touch Down (97 yards), highest kickoff return average (34 yards) and highest vertical jump (37 inches). Cruz helped lead his schools basketball team to a state championship, and was named to the California Scholarship Federation. [1]

College career

Cruz attended Brown University. As a freshman, Cruz earned Second-team All-Ivy Honors. As a sophomore, Cruz was selected for First-team All-Ivy Honors, while registering 2 interceptions and ranked second in both punt and kickoff returns. [1]

In his senior season, Cruz earned First-team All-American honors. Cruz is one of 41 players in Ivy League history to earn First-team All-Ivy three times.[ citation needed ]

Professional career

Los Angeles KISS

Cruz joined the Los Angeles KISS in 2014. He returned 58 kickoffs for 1,305 yards in 11 games his rookie season. [2] He was placed on recallable reassignment on March 13, 2015. [3]

Arizona Rattlers

In the middle of the 2015 season, Cruz signed with the Arizona Rattlers as mostly a kick returner.

Chicago Bears

On July 27, 2015, the Bears signed Cruz to a three-year deal. [4] On September 5, 2015, he was waived/injured by the Bears. [5]

Miami Dolphins

On February 18, 2016, the Dolphins signed Cruz to a deal. On August 27, 2016, Cruz was waived by the Dolphins. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorenzo Booker</span> American football player (born 1984)

Lorenzo Adarryll Booker is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles.

Frank Murphy is a former gridiron football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connor Barth</span> American football player (born 1986)

Connor Thomas Barth is a former American football placekicker who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina and was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Armstrong (American football)</span> American football player (born 1983)

Anthony A. Armstrong is a former American football wide receiver. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Miami Dolphins in 2008. He played college football at West Texas A&M.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcus Thigpen</span> American football player (born 1986)

Marcus Arnette Thigpen is an American former professional gridiron football player who was a running back and kick returner in the National Football League and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Indiana Hoosiers, earning first-team All-American honors in 2006. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2009. Thigpen was also a member of the Denver Broncos, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts, Oakland Raiders, and Saskatchewan Roughriders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Rainey</span> American football player (born 1987)

Bobby Gene Rainey, Jr. is an American former football running back and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, earning second-team All-American honors in 2011. Rainey signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent after the 2012 NFL draft. He also played for the Cleveland Browns, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Giants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwayne Harris</span> American football player (born 1987)

Dwayne Lenard Harris is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the East Carolina Pirates. He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raheem Mostert</span> American football player (born 1992)

Dominique Raheem Mostert is an American football running back for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Purdue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cordarrelle Patterson</span> American football player (born 1991)

Cordarrelle Patterson, nicknamed "Flash", is an American football running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). A versatile utility player, he plays running back, wide receiver, return specialist, and occasionally on defense. Patterson played college football for the Hutchinson Blue Dragons before transferring to the Tennessee Volunteers, where he earned first-team All-SEC honors. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft. He has also been a member of the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, and the Atlanta Falcons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobi Hamilton</span> American football player (born 1990)

Cobi Hamilton is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Arkansas. He was considered one of the top wide receiver prospects for the 2013 NFL Draft, and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Jones (safety)</span> American football player (born 1990)

Don Jones II is a former American football safety. He played college football at Arkansas State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cody Parkey</span> American football player (born 1992)

Cody Parkey is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers and was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He was also a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears, Tennessee Titans, and New Orleans Saints. During a 2018–2019 Bears playoff game against his former team, the Eagles, Parkey missed a potential game-winning kick that became known as the Double Doink because it struck an upright and the crossbar before falling to the ground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Alford</span> American gridiron football player (born 1992)

Mario Alford is an American professional football wide receiver for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers, earning first-team All-American honors in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darius Jennings</span> American football player (born 1992)

Darius Lamar Jennings is a former American football wide receiver and return specialist. He played college football at Virginia and was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent. Jennings was also a member of the Chicago Bears, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Chargers, and Detroit Lions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jakeem Grant</span> American football player (born 1992)

Jakeem Grant Sr. is an American football wide receiver and return specialist who is a free agent. He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL draft and has also played for the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He played college football at Texas Tech, where he set their all-time record for receiving yards. On December 12, 2021, Grant broke the Bears' franchise record for longest punt return for a touchdown by scoring on a 97-yard punt return in a game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The return is the tenth longest punt returned for a touchdown in NFL history.

Ed Eagan is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants. He played college football at Northwestern State University.

Rashad Lawrence is an American football wide receiver. He played college football at Northwestern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Cracraft</span> American football player (born 1994)

River Cracraft is an American football wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington State.

John Lovett is an American football fullback who is a free agent. He played college football at Princeton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Wright (American football)</span> American football player (born 1996)

Matthew Wright is an American football placekicker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Wright is known for breaking the Jacksonville Jaguars' 20-game losing streak, when he scored two fourth quarter field goals, including a game-winning 53 yarder in an NFL International Series game against the Miami Dolphins in London. Wright played college football at UCF where he was a member of the undefeated 2017 team that was selected as National Champions by the Colley Matrix.

References

  1. 1 2 "12 - AJ Cruz". www.brownbears.com. Brown University. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  2. ↑ "AJ Cruz". www.arenafootball.com. Arena Football League. Archived from the original on August 23, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Team Transactions". arenafan.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  4. ↑ Jeff Dickerson (July 28, 2015). "Bears sign DL David Carter, WR AJ Cruz". www.espn.go.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  5. ↑ Mayer, Larry (September 5, 2015). "Bears make cuts to reduce roster to 53". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Dolphins make roster moves". MiamiDolphins.com. August 27, 2016. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.