Matt Grootegoed
Encyclopedia
Matt Grootegoed is a professional gridiron football
linebacker
who is currently a free agent
. He was signed by the Detroit Lions
as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football
at Southern California.
Grootegoed has also played for the Calgary Stampeders
.
in Santa Ana, California
, with Matt Leinart
. He was named to the 1999 USA Today
All-USA first team. He won three CIF
championships while attending Mater Dei.
HIGH SCHOOL: He was named to the 1999 USA Today All-USA first team, Parade All-American, Super Prep All-American, Prep Star All-American, Reebok ESPN All-American, The Sporting News Top 101, Prep Star Top 100 Dream Team, Tom Lemming Top 100, Prep Star Western Super 30, Super Prep All-Farwest, Tom Lemming All-West, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West first team, Orange County Register Fab 15 first team, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Las Vegas Sun Super 11 first team, Cal-Hi Sports All-State first team, All-CIF Southern Section first team, All-CIF Division I Co-Defensive MVP, Los Angeles Times Glenn Davis Award (as the top Southern California prep football player), Los Angeles Times All-Orange County first team, Orange County Register All-Orange County Defensive MVP and All-Serra League MVP as a senior at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana (Calif.). He made 138 tackles, 6 interceptions (2 were returned for TDs), 7 tackles for losses and 2 forced fumbles as a free safety and ran for 945 yards on 116 carries (8.1 avg) with 14 TDs as a running back (he also played some quarterback early in the season, completing 21-of-41 passes, 51.2%, for 300-plus yards) in 1999. Mater Dei was the CIF Division I co-champion.
As a junior in 1998, he made Student Sports Junior All-American, Cal-Hi All-State first team, All-CIF Southern Section first team, All-CIF Division I Defensive MVP, Los Angeles Times All-Orange County Back of the Year and Orange County Register All-Orange County Defensive MVP. He rushed for more than 1,600 yards with 21 TDs on offense and made 130 tackles, 6 forced fumbles and 3 interceptions on defense in 1998. In the 1998 CIF Division I championship game, which Mater Dei won, he earned Offensive and Defensive Player of the Game honors (he ran for 244 yards, with a 7.4 average, and 2 TDs).
Trojans. He also was a four-year starter. Grootegoed played on two consecutive national championship teams for the University of Southern California.
TAC LS/YDS DFL FR INT YDS AVG TD LG
2001 (Fr.)... 32 8/13 2 1 0 0 0.0 0 0
2002 (So.)... 81 16.5/81 4 1 1 49 49.0 0 49
2003 (Jr.)... 41 4.5/24 1 1 0 0 0.0 0 0
CAREER....... 154 29/94 7 3 1 49 49.0 0 49
GAME-BY-GAME WITH MATT GROOTEGOED
2003
TAC LS/YDS DFL FR
Auburn* 5 1/9 0 0
BYU* 9 0/0 1 1
Hawaii* 4 1/2 0 0
California* 8 0.5/3 0 0
Arizona State* 9 2/10 0 0
Stanford* 4 0/0 0 0
Notre Dame* 1 0/0 0 0
Mich. (Rose) 1 0/0 0 0
2003 (Jr.)... 41 4.5/24 1 1
2002
TAC LS/YDS DFL FR
Auburn * 3 0/0 0 0
Colorado* 3 0/0 0 0
Kansas State* 9 1.5/3 0 0
Oregon State* 5 3/13 1 0
Wash. State* 9 1/2 0 0
California* 11 2/5 0 1
Washington* 3 1/5 0 0
Oregon * 8 0/0 1 0
Stanford* 8 3/18 1 0
Arizona State* 5 1/8 0 0
UCLA* 8 1/3 0 0
Notre Dame* 3 2/11 1 0
Iowa (Orange)* 6 1/13 0 0
2002 (So.)... 81 16.5/68 4 1
2001
TAC LS/YDS DFL FR
San Jose St.* 2 1/2 0 0
Kansas State* 9 1/2 0 0
Arizona State* 7 3/3 0 0
Notre Dame* 7 2/2 0 1
Arizona* 2 0/0 1 0
Oregon State* 5 1/4 1 0
2001 (Fr.)... 32 8/13 2 1
, eventually released to their practice squad, and was later picked up by the Detroit Lions. Grootegoed played for the National Football League
Detroit Lions
in the last three games of their 2005 season.
win the 2008
Grey Cup
.
The Stampeders released Grootegoed on September 9, 2009.
USC head coach Pete Carroll: "Things just happen when he's on the field. He knocks the ball down, knocks the ball loose, forces plays in the backfield and makes plays getting off blocks. You can't hold him down."
Former USC 2-time All-American safety Troy Polamalu: "Playing with him is like having a twin on the other side of the field...He's better than I am, he just hasn't had the platform yet. As soon as he gets it, everybody is going to see because he has everything it takes...If they put him in my position (strong safety), he'd win the Thorpe Award or he might even be the defensive player of the year."
Gridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
who is currently a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
. He was signed by the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Southern California.
Grootegoed has also played for the Calgary Stampeders
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...
.
Early years
Grootegoed attended Mater Dei High SchoolMater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California)
Mater Dei High School is a private, Catholic, co-educational secondary school in Santa Ana, California. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. With an enrollment of 2,100 students Mater Dei High School is one of the largest Catholic high schools in the United States...
in Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....
, with Matt Leinart
Matt Leinart
Matthew Stephen Leinart , is an American professional football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League...
. He was named to the 1999 USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
All-USA first team. He won three CIF
California Interscholastic Federation
The California Interscholastic Federation is the governing body for high school sports in the state of California. It mirrors similar governing bodies in other states; however, it differs from some of the others in that it covers most high schools in the state of California, both public and...
championships while attending Mater Dei.
HIGH SCHOOL: He was named to the 1999 USA Today All-USA first team, Parade All-American, Super Prep All-American, Prep Star All-American, Reebok ESPN All-American, The Sporting News Top 101, Prep Star Top 100 Dream Team, Tom Lemming Top 100, Prep Star Western Super 30, Super Prep All-Farwest, Tom Lemming All-West, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West first team, Orange County Register Fab 15 first team, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Las Vegas Sun Super 11 first team, Cal-Hi Sports All-State first team, All-CIF Southern Section first team, All-CIF Division I Co-Defensive MVP, Los Angeles Times Glenn Davis Award (as the top Southern California prep football player), Los Angeles Times All-Orange County first team, Orange County Register All-Orange County Defensive MVP and All-Serra League MVP as a senior at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana (Calif.). He made 138 tackles, 6 interceptions (2 were returned for TDs), 7 tackles for losses and 2 forced fumbles as a free safety and ran for 945 yards on 116 carries (8.1 avg) with 14 TDs as a running back (he also played some quarterback early in the season, completing 21-of-41 passes, 51.2%, for 300-plus yards) in 1999. Mater Dei was the CIF Division I co-champion.
As a junior in 1998, he made Student Sports Junior All-American, Cal-Hi All-State first team, All-CIF Southern Section first team, All-CIF Division I Defensive MVP, Los Angeles Times All-Orange County Back of the Year and Orange County Register All-Orange County Defensive MVP. He rushed for more than 1,600 yards with 21 TDs on offense and made 130 tackles, 6 forced fumbles and 3 interceptions on defense in 1998. In the 1998 CIF Division I championship game, which Mater Dei won, he earned Offensive and Defensive Player of the Game honors (he ran for 244 yards, with a 7.4 average, and 2 TDs).
College career
Grootegoed was a 2004 Butkus Award finalist and an All-American linebacker for the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
Trojans. He also was a four-year starter. Grootegoed played on two consecutive national championship teams for the University of Southern California.
TAC LS/YDS DFL FR INT YDS AVG TD LG
2001 (Fr.)... 32 8/13 2 1 0 0 0.0 0 0
2002 (So.)... 81 16.5/81 4 1 1 49 49.0 0 49
2003 (Jr.)... 41 4.5/24 1 1 0 0 0.0 0 0
CAREER....... 154 29/94 7 3 1 49 49.0 0 49
GAME-BY-GAME WITH MATT GROOTEGOED
2003
TAC LS/YDS DFL FR
Auburn* 5 1/9 0 0
BYU* 9 0/0 1 1
Hawaii* 4 1/2 0 0
California* 8 0.5/3 0 0
Arizona State* 9 2/10 0 0
Stanford* 4 0/0 0 0
Notre Dame* 1 0/0 0 0
Mich. (Rose) 1 0/0 0 0
2003 (Jr.)... 41 4.5/24 1 1
2002
TAC LS/YDS DFL FR
Auburn * 3 0/0 0 0
Colorado* 3 0/0 0 0
Kansas State* 9 1.5/3 0 0
Oregon State* 5 3/13 1 0
Wash. State* 9 1/2 0 0
California* 11 2/5 0 1
Washington* 3 1/5 0 0
Oregon * 8 0/0 1 0
Stanford* 8 3/18 1 0
Arizona State* 5 1/8 0 0
UCLA* 8 1/3 0 0
Notre Dame* 3 2/11 1 0
Iowa (Orange)* 6 1/13 0 0
2002 (So.)... 81 16.5/68 4 1
2001
TAC LS/YDS DFL FR
San Jose St.* 2 1/2 0 0
Kansas State* 9 1/2 0 0
Arizona State* 7 3/3 0 0
Notre Dame* 7 2/2 0 1
Arizona* 2 0/0 1 0
Oregon State* 5 1/4 1 0
2001 (Fr.)... 32 8/13 2 1
- Starter
National Football League
On April 26, 2005, Grootegoed was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
, eventually released to their practice squad, and was later picked up by the Detroit Lions. Grootegoed played for the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
in the last three games of their 2005 season.
Canadian Football League
He helped the Calgary StampedersCalgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...
win the 2008
96th Grey Cup
The 96th Grey Cup was held in Montreal, Quebec at Olympic Stadium on November 23, 2008. The Eastern Division Champion Montreal Alouettes hosted the Western Division Champion Calgary Stampeders. The Stampeders won the game 22-14, with quarterback Henry Burris winning the MVP award...
Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
.
The Stampeders released Grootegoed on September 9, 2009.
USC head coach Pete Carroll: "Things just happen when he's on the field. He knocks the ball down, knocks the ball loose, forces plays in the backfield and makes plays getting off blocks. You can't hold him down."
Former USC 2-time All-American safety Troy Polamalu: "Playing with him is like having a twin on the other side of the field...He's better than I am, he just hasn't had the platform yet. As soon as he gets it, everybody is going to see because he has everything it takes...If they put him in my position (strong safety), he'd win the Thorpe Award or he might even be the defensive player of the year."