Tim Dwight
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tim Dwight | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | July 13, 1975 |
| Place of birth | Iowa City, Iowa |
| Position(s) | Wide receiver |
| College | University of Iowa |
| NFL Draft | 1998 / Round 4(traded) |
| Pro Bowls | N/A |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 1998-2001 2001-2004 2005-2006 2006-present | Atlanta Falcons San Diego Chargers New England Patriots New York Jets |
Timothy John Dwight, Jr. (born July 13, 1975 in Iowa City, Iowa) is an American football player. Officially listed as a wide receiver, he has also been a prolific punt and kick returner.
After excelling in both football (despite being only 5'8" tall, and weighing 185 pounds} and track at the University of Iowa, Dwight was drafted in the spring of 1998 by the Atlanta Falcons. In Super Bowl XXXIII, he returned five kickoffs, including one for 46 yards and another for 94 yards and a touchdown. He is second all-time in Super Bowl kick return yardage for a single game (210). His 42.0 yards per return average in the game was a Super Bowl career record. After spending three years with Atlanta, he was traded on April 20, 2001 to the San Diego Chargers as part of the deal that enabled the Falcons to select quarterback Michael Vick with the 2001 draft's top selection, which the Chargers originally held pursuant to their 1-15 final record in 2000.
On July 9, 2001, Dwight became the focus of an interesting story: On that date, an edition of ESPN The Magazine was published which included a photograph of him in the act of shaving his entire body with a razor. He went on to explain that he does this on a regular basis (he also shaves his head completely).
Dwight has been labeled "injury-prone" because he rarely plays a whole season without missing a significant number of games. The 2005-06 season was the first in which Dwight appeared in all 16 games. Dwight's most productive seasons as a wide receiver have been 1999, when he caught 32 passes for 669 yards (a 20.9-yard average per catch) with seven touchdowns, and 2002, when he had 50 receptions for 623 yards. He also has five NFL career touchdowns on kick returns — three on punts and two on kickoffs. Although his speed has declined somewhat with advancing age and injuries, he is still thought to be among the fastest players currently in the NFL.
Dwight became a free agent following the 2004 season, and on March 11, 2005 he signed with the New England Patriots. As a New England Patriot, Dwight caught 19 passes for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns and also gained 523 yards returning punts and kickoffs.
After the 2005-06 season Tim Dwight signed a 4-year $4.2 million contract to play for the New York Jets where he is expected to play as the fourth wide receiver and to take over return duties.
Dwight finished his college career with Big Ten records for punt return yardage (1,102) and punts returned for touchdowns (5); his yardage mark has since been eclipsed by three others and Ohio State's Ted Ginn Jr. has surpassed his touchdown mark. He also holds University of Iowa football records for career receiving yards (2,271) and career receiving touchdowns (21). In 1999, he was Big Ten Champion in the 100 meter dash, and he also was part of the 1999 Big Ten Champion 4X400 meter relay, the 1999 Big Ten Champion 4X100 meter relay, and the 1998 Big Ten Champion 4X100 meter relay.
Tim Dwight's famous punt return against Penn State in 1996 is featured in a cut-scene in NCAA Football 2006.
