Rod Trafford
| No. 81 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Tight end |
| Personal information | |
| Born | November 29, 1978 Morristown, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 250 lb (113 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Delbarton School (Morristown) |
| College | South Carolina[1] |
| Career history | |
| |
* Offseason or practice squad member only | |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Rodney Trafford (born November 29, 1978)[2] is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL).[3]
Trafford grew up in Verona, New Jersey, and played his high school football at Delbarton School. Trafford was All State quarterback[4][5] He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks under coach Lou Holtz.
Trafford played for the New England Patriots, Scottish Claymores, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, and St. Louis Rams.
Early life
[edit]Trafford was in a car accident at 13 years old during a fishing trip.[6] This led to the discovery of a hole in his heart as well as an irregular heartbeat.[7] While it was repaired, he was not cleared for football. Trafford eventually found a doctor who allowed him to play as long as he wore a Kevlar body suit to support his sternum, and took regular medication and had regular checkups.[7][8][9]
Trafford played quarterback at Delbarton School, throwing for more than 2,800 yards and 30 touchdown. His senior year, he played in the North-South New Jersey all-star game. His coach was John Kowalik.[10][9][11]
College career
[edit]Trafford earned three varsity letters at University of South Carolina and finished his career with seven receptions for 37 yards. Over his final two years, he lead the Gamecocks to a 17–7 record as well as wins in the Outback Bowl following the 2000 and 2001 seasons. He was part of a reversal of fortunes for the University of South Carolina program, going from an 0–11 record as a sophomore to bowl wins as a junior and as a senior. He saw action in all 24 games as a junior and senior. He helped the University of South Carolina running game gain 2,378 yards in 2001, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. He joined the squad as a walk-on quarterback, but redshirted as a freshman in 1997 and was converted into a tight end.[10][12][10][13]
College statistics
[edit]| Year | No. | Yds. | Avg. | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 0 | 13 |
| 2000 | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2001 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 1 | 7 |
| Totals | 5 | 30 | 6.4 | 0 | 13 |
Professional Career
[edit]Trafford was not drafted when he finished college in 2002. He was a camp director for 30 fourth-grade boys in Summit, N.J., did some sales work and research for his father's computer engineering firm, and also worked part-time for a publishing company.[15]
Buffalo Bills signed Trafford to the practice squad on November 19, 2003. Trafford played for three months in the Scottish Claymores, a European League team, after being signed by the New England Patriots.
Trafford helped the Scottish Claymores record a narrow win over Amsterdam Admirals – with his first touchdown since college. Trafford's score kept the Claymores on target to reach next month's World Bowl Final.[16]
Receiving/Rushing statistics
| Year | Team | G | GS | Rec | Yds | Lg | TD | FD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD | FD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Scottish (NFLE) | 0 | 0 | 18 | 223 | 12.4 | 24 | 1 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Passing statistics
| Year | Team | G | GS | ATT | Cmp Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | TD% | Int% | Lg | Sack | Loss | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Scottish (NFLE) | -- | – | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 39.6 |
Playing in NFL Europe led him to miss Patriots' training putting him behind the other rookies.[15]
In 2004, he was signed by the Bills on Dec 8 after the team placed TE Mark Campbell on injured reserve, after being on Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad for two weeks. He made his NFL debut four days later and caught his first career pass against Cleveland on December 12 of the same year.
Receiving/Rushing statistics
| Year | Team | G | GS | Rec | Yds | Lg | TD | FD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD | FD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Buffalo (NFL) | 4 | 0 | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Receiving by games played
| Date | vs Team | GP/GS | REC | YDS | Long | AVG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/12 | CLE (NFL) | 1/0 | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
| 12/19 | CIN (NFL) | 1/0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12/26 | SF (NFL) | 1/0 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
| 1/2/05 | PIT (NFL) | 1/0 | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
| 2004 | Season (NFL) | 4/0 | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 10 | 0 |
| Career | (NFL) | 4/0 | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 10 | 0 |
Awards
[edit]Trafford earned All-State honors his senior year at Delbarton School.[10]
Personal life
[edit]In the early 2000s, Trafford worked at Xenith LLC as a Southeast Regional Sales Manager.
At Xenith LLC Rod Trafford raised concerns about the helmets players were wearing writing, "The players maybe aren't wearing the correct size helmet maybe they're not being fit properly. There could be some design flaws. [...] It seems the past two or three years, it's become an epidemic."[18]
2009 Trafford made the cover of Delbarton School Today while at Xenith in an article "Defending the Brain."[19]
2014 Trafford became a Master Trainer and Ambassador to teach and reinforce USA Football's Heads Up Football.[20] [citation needed]
Trafford joined Pazoo.com January 12, 2015, as a Health and Wellness expert writing about sports safety.[21]
2015 Trafford joined i1 Biometrics, Inc. as a Regional Sales Manager to help with the growing epidemic of undiagnosed sports brain injuries.[22]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Rod Trafford – New England Patriots – 2016 Player Profile". Rotoworld.com. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- ↑ Rod Trafford, Yahoo! Sports
- ↑ Rod Trafford sbnation.com [dead link]
- ↑ "News". Retrieved December 27, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ Brown, Casey. "What's In A Name?" Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, St. Louis Rams, August 4, 2006. Retrieved October 11, 2007.
- ↑ "Heart-stopping moment that saved Trafford". March 22, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- 1 2 ""AMERICAN FOOTBALL: Doctors Said I'd Never Play Again; Claymore Rod Back from Brink" – Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland), March 22, 2003". Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- ↑ "Ididigital.com" (PDF). Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- 1 2 "HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL REPORT". The New York Times. September 21, 1996. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Delbarton School gamecocksonline.com Archived October 15, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "G-Cock20's CFB Countdown: #81". Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- ↑ "2001 USC Gamecocks Football ~ First win over the Alabama Crimson Tide ~ Williams Brice Stadium". YouTube. June 24, 2013. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ↑ Trafford recalls big time gogamecocks.com October 8, 2010 [dead link]
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Rodney Trafford Football Statistics – The Football Database". Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- 1 2 "Trying To Fit In Tight Spot". Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- ↑ "American Football: Trafford out to continue turnaround; Amsterdam Admirals 20 Scottish Claymores 31. – Free Online Library". Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- ↑ "Claymores Head to Spain for Crucial Game – OurSports Central". May 28, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- ↑ "Increased number of flying helmets raises concerns - USATODAY.com". Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ "USA Football's Heads Up Football program features former NFL players as Master Trainers and Ambassadors – Youth Football – USA Football – Football's National Governing Body". Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- ↑ Pazoo cohengrassroots.com
- ↑ "Rod Trafford – AES R&D". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved January 13, 2024. [user-generated source]