NFL Players from Cleveland
The National Football League has many players from all over the world including Northeast Ohio. This year there are three players from Northeast Ohio that plan to represent their Cleveland hometown and their teams the best way they can. The players are Ted Ginn Jr., Jason Kelce, and Travis Kelce. Ted Ginn Jr. is a kick-off/punt returner, and wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers. Jason Kelce is the starting center for the Philadelphia Eagles. The third player, Travis Kelce, is a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ted Ginn Jr. was a wide receiver for Glenville High School while his father was the head football coach at Glenville. One major skill Ted Ginn Jr. posses is his speed. He is one of the fastest players in the league, which helps him especially on kickoff and punt returns. Ted Ginn Jr. is so fast that he was a state champion sprinter at Glenville as well. In the NFL, kickoff returners have switched from stronger and tougher runners, like former Brown’s returner Joshua Cribbs, to faster and lighter returners like Brown’s Travis Benjamin. Therefore, Ted Ginn Jr. is the perfect mold and can become one of the best kickoff return men in the league.
Jason Kelce, the starting center for the Philadelphia Eagles, was drafted in 2011 by the Eagles and was the 191st pick. He went to Cleveland Heights High School and the University of Cincinnati; he played football at both and was successful. At the 2011 scouting combine he had the fasted 40 yard dash time at 4.89 seconds of offensive linemen. As a rookie, he started all 16 games during the season. Jason Kelce will have an especially successful year if he comes back fully healthy and cuts down on his holding penalties.
Travis Kelce is currently the Kansas City Chief Tight End. At Cleveland Heights High School he was the quarterback as well as at the University of Cincinnati on their Wildcat offense. Travis Kelce is very athletic and has a very good arm, which is why he was a quarterback in high school and college. Also, he played on the University of Cincinnati’s basketball team. He is also a very good blocker, which is beneficial for his position. In college, Travis Kelce was suspended for a season his sophomore year in 2010 yet he came back and was still very successful his junior season. He was drafted in 2013 as the 63rd pick. Travis Kelce is a very good blocker and if he works hard on his catching and route running skills; he should be the starting tight end of the Kansas City Chiefs by the end of the season.
-Dalya Oprian
