Donald Driver

Donald Driver

Driver aboard the USS Columbus (SSN-762) for a tour
No. 80     Green Bay Packers
Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: February 2, 1975 (1975-02-02) (age 36)
Place of birth: Houston, Texas
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Weight: 194 lb (88 kg)
Career information
College: Alcorn State
NFL Draft: 1999 / Round: 7 / Pick: 213
Debuted in 1999 for the Green Bay Packers
Career history
Green Bay Packers (1999–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
3× Pro Bowl selection (2002, 2006, 2007) 1× All-Pro selection (2006) Super Bowl champion (XLV) Green Bay Packers MVP (2002) Packers "Walter Payton Man of the Year" (2002) Ed Block Courage Award (2005) FOX Sports Galloping Gobbler Award (2009) Green Bay Packers Receiving Yards All-Time Leader Green Bay Packers Receptions All-Time Leader
Career NFL statistics as of Week 9, 2011
Receptions	713
Receiving Yards	9,740
Receiving TDs	55
Stats at NFL.com

Donald Jerome Driver (born February 2, 1975) is an American football wide receiver and children's author. He plays for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. Driver was picked by the Packers in the 1999 NFL Draft in the seventh round (213th pick overall) out of Alcorn State University.

College career

Donald Driver attended Alcorn State University, where he lettered in both football and track & field. He finished his college football career there with 88 receptions for 1993 yards (19.69 Yards Per Catch). Driver is one of the most decorated track athletes in the NFL (he is an Olympic class high jumper, being able to jump 7 feet 6 inches^[1] and could have qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics team). He was a five time "Athlete of the Year" in his conference for his track and football prowess.

Driver is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.^[2]

Professional career

Donald Driver was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 7th round of the 1999 NFL Draft. As of 2011, he has spent his entire career with the Packers.

Green Bay Packers

Donald Driver (lower right) lined up during a game against the Buffalo Bills

Known as one of the toughest wide receivers in the game,^[3] Driver had the most catches in the NFL in the middle of the field in 2006. He set a career best for yards on November 12, 2006 when he caught six passes for 191 yards including an 82 yard touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings.^[4] Driver finished the 2006 season in the top five of the league in reception yardage with 1,295 yards.^[5] He also recorded the most receptions in his career with 92 of them, earning a spot in the 2007 Pro Bowl.

On December 16, 2007 during a 33-14 victory over the St. Louis Rams, Favre broke Dan Marino's all-time record mark of 61,361 career passing yards. The new record came on a seven yard completion to Driver.^[6] Driver was selected for the 2008 Pro Bowl.

In the NFC Championship game on January 20, 2008 against the New York Giants, Driver had the longest play in the playoffs of the Packers' franchise history with a 90 yard TD catch from Favre.^[7]

On October 18, 2009, Donald Driver became the Green Bay Packers all-time leading receiver in catches, with 596 catches. He went on to catch six more balls for 107 yards in a 26-0 home victory over the Detroit Lions. On September 8, 2011, Driver caught 4 balls for 41 yards in the opening game against the New Orleans Saints and was only one yard short of becoming the Packers all-time leader in receiving yards. Driver finally broke the Packers all-time receiving yardage record on September 18, 2011 against the Carolina Panthers after he caught a 10 yard pass from Aaron Rodgers, surpassing James Lofton.

On February 6, 2011, Driver was injured on his second reception of Super Bowl XLV. Out with an ankle sprain, Driver did not return to the game as the Packers went on to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25. Driver finished Super Bowl XLV with two receptions for 28 yards.

Personal life

Driver co-hosts the statewide Packer analysis television series Inside the Huddle with Donald Driver, with WLUK-TV's sports director Drew Smith and has done so since 2004. Every Tuesday Donald talks football with John Mercure on Wisconsin's Afternoon News with John Mercure on AM 620 WTMJ. He also served as host to the annual Offense vs. Defense softball game featuring members of the Green Bay Packers.

As a well-known athlete in the state of Wisconsin, Driver has been featured in marketing campaigns for companies such as McDonald's, AirTran Airways, Kwik Trip, Goodwill, Jani-King and Time Warner Cable.

Throughout his career, Donald Driver has been very active off the field, making over 300 charitable appearances since his rookie season in 1999. In the spring of 2001, Donald and his wife Betina created the “Donald Driver Foundation”, which offers assistance to ill children with unmanageable hospital bills, provides housing for the homeless, and donates to a variety of local charities. In December 2003, the foundation put two previously homeless families in new, fully furnished homes.

Donald has also donated much of his time and efforts to such institutions as Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and Goodwill Industries. In 2001, Driver was awarded the “Community Service Award” by the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce in recognition of his outstanding community involvement. Donald also received the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2002, the only NFL award that recognizes off-the-field community service as well as playing excellence. In 2005 he was awarded the Ed Block Courage award by his Green Bay teammates.

Driver is also an author of three children's books, Quickie Handles a Loss, Quickie Makes the Team, and Quickie Goes to the Big Game. The books are based on Driver's bedtime storytelling to his two children, and are sold statewide through bookstores and sponsoring supermarkets. "Quickie" is a common nickname for Donald.

References

1. ^ "Packer Draft notes". Packers.com. http://www.packers.com/draft/1999/pick_12/. Retrieved 2008-10-23. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "Greeks in Professional Football 2007". Greeks in Sports. North-American Interfraternity Conference. http://www.nicindy.org/whos_greek/greeks_in_sports/football/2007Football.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 
3. ^ Lori Nickel. "Packers' Driver determined to give back". Milwaukee Journal - Sentinel. http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/95703134.html. Retrieved 2010-09-27. 
4. ^ Packers - Donald Driver Bio
5. ^ NFL 2006 Season Statistics
6. ^ "Favre passes Marino; Packers down Rams to clinch bye". TheSportsNetwork.com. http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=/nfl/news/ABN4117777.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-16. 
7. ^ ESPN - NY Giants vs. Green Bay Packers - Recap - January 20, 2008

External links

• Green Bay Packers bio
• Donald Driver Foundation
• Donald Driver Official Website
• Donald Driver TV Show Website
• Donald Driver: More Than a Game

Persondata
Name	Driver, Donald
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 2, 1975
Place of birth	Houston, Texas
Date of death
Place of death