JaMarcus Russell
JaMarcus Russell ( born August 9, 1985 in Mobile, Alabama ) is a former American professional American football player at the position of quarterback. The 1.98 meter tall Russell played in the National Football League ( NFL) for the Oakland Raiders. He was selected as the first player in the first round of NFL Draft 2007, but graduated on the basis of weight and drug problems, only 31 games in the NFL.
College
In his college years at Louisiana State University Russell was considered a great talent and won the 2006 Manning Award for the best college quarterback. NFL scouts were particularly impressed with his combination of physical strength and puppies, reminiscent of Daunte Culpepper.
NFL
The Oakland Raiders of Head Coach Lane Kiffin chose Russell in the NFL Draft in 2007 as the first player out, but Russell refused at first to sign a contract: he gambled successfully for more money, but also missed the training camp and was among other reasons rather than starting quarterback used. In his first season, Russell made only four games (one of them as a starter ) and threw two touchdowns, but also afforded four interceptions.
In his second season, 2008 Russell was appointed starting quarterback. He threw thirteen touchdowns with eight interceptions, scored 2,423 yards space gain and achieved a quarterback rating of 77.1. The Raiders won only five season games.
2009 was in Russell but disastrous: after nine games in which he threw just three touchdowns ( eleven interceptions ), his quarterback rating dropped to 50.0 and he was booed by his own fans, he was the new head coach Tom Cable first by Bruce Gradkowski ordinary and even replaced as Charlie Frye as a reserve quarterback. Were particularly critical of Russell's "lack of work ethic and larifarihafte Preparation". Tom Cable sent Russell as test some "DVDs of the last Raiders games" and later asked him if he had looked at himself. When Russell told him, " learned a lot " to have unmasked Cable that the DVDs were unrecorded: he had wanted to just test it and knew that Russell had lied.
In the summer of the 2010 season, Russell appeared " extremely overweight ". In addition, critics pointed out that he seemed to have little interest in learning the new moves of Raiders, and hardly spoke to his teammates. Russell was thrown from the Raiders out of the squad, becoming the No. 1 draft pick, which was the fastest dismissed from his team.
In July 2010, the now without clubs Russell was caught purple drank in the consumption of kodeinhaltigen party drug. Russell could not even convince the Miami Dolphins in the trial with the Washington Redskins, and in the spring of 2011 gave his motivational speaker announced its collaboration with the "extraordinarily talented, but completely non-powered " Russell to have given up. NFL.com named Russell the " worst draft pick in NFL history, even worse than Ryan Leaf".
Private life
Russell is the son of Zina and Bobby Russell, a secretary and a machinist. When Hurricane Katrina destroyed large parts of Louisiana, home to the former LSU student twenty people (including Fats Domino, the grandfather of his girlfriend at the time ) in his student apartment.
In March 2011 it was announced that Russell would suffer " massive financial problems " and after signing his NFL contract of 60 million U.S. dollars rich Russell was unable to pay a mortgage " 195.000 U.S. dollars."