Player Information
He was born on September 16, 1985 and graduated from Jonesboro (GA) High. As a redshirt freshman at Louisville, he caught 5 passes for 43 yards (8.6 avg) in 11 games. He started 2 of 12 games as a sophomore, finishing the year with 27 grabs for 457 yards (16.9 avg) and 2 touchdowns. As a junior, he earned 1st team All-Big East. He finished the year with 70 catches for 1265 yards (18.1 avg) and 6 scores, while only starting 7 of 13 games. As a senior, he caught 71 passes for 1159 yards (16.3 avg) and 7 touchdowns. He would again earn 1st team All-Big East and added 2nd All-American honors to his resume. He also finished his career with 19 carries for 162 yards on the ground (8.5 avg) and a touchdown, along with 18 kickoff returns for 354 yards (19.7 avg) and 6 punt returns for 16 yards (2.7 avg). On special teams coverage, he also had 17 career tackles and 2 fumble recoveries. Originally drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round (84th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft.
Career Statistics
| RECEIVING | RUSHING | |||||||||
| Year | Team | G | GS | No. | Yds | Avg | TD | Att. | Yds | TD |
| 2008 | ATL | 16 | 0 | 23 | 320 | 13.9 | 1 | 12 | 69 | 1 |
| 2009 | ATL | 0 | 0 | on Injured Reserve | ||||||
| 2010 | ATL | 16 | 4 | 22 | 294 | 13.4 | 1 | 2 | -5 | 0 |
| 2011 | ATL | 16 | 4 | 39 | 498 | 12.8 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2012 | ATL | 15 | 1 | 38 | 395 | 10.4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 63 | 9 | 122 | 1507 | 12.4 | 4 | 17 | 71 | 1 | |
Signed by Atlanta Falcons on June 20, 2008 ... Re-signed by Falcons on March 13, 2012.
Contract details
Signed by Falcons to a four-year contract. He has base salaries of: $295,000 (2008); $385,000 (2009); $470,000 (2010); and $555,000 (2011) ... Signed by Falcons in 2012 to a four-year contract worth $12.5 million. His base salaries are: $1.25 million (2012); $1.75 million (2013); $2.75 million (2014); and $3.5 million (2015). He received a $2.25 million signing bonus, and is also due a $1 million option bonus in 2013. That makes his cap hits equal to (roundest to nearest thousand): $1.813 million (2012); $2.646 million (2013); $3.646 million (2014); and $4.396 million (2015).