Early Joseph Doucet III (born October 28, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft. He played college football for the LSU Tigers.
| No. 80, 85 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | October 28, 1985 New Iberia, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 212 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | St. Martinville (LA) | ||||||||
| College: | LSU (2004–2007) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2008 / round: 3 / pick: 81 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Early life
editEarly Doucet prepped at St. Martinville High School in St. Martinville, Louisiana. Doucet was the top-rated receiver in the nation, as well one of the top five athletes. He was named an All-American by Parade. As a senior, he was named to First-team 4A all-state as well was honorable mention academic all-state. Doucet was exceptionally versatile, playing quarterback, running back, receiver, and return man for his team. He ran for 3,592 yards on 470 carries and 52 touchdowns during his career. Doucet also participated in four different postseason teams, helping his basketball team, which included future LSU athlete Darrel Mitchell, to the state championship, as well as taking his football team to the state semi-finals twice. He played in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, which is a national all-star game for some of the nation's best and brightest high school football players.
College career
editDoucet was a member of the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers. After catching 18 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns in his first season, he was named to the All-SEC freshman team. Doucet played in 12 games, with three starts.[1] His first career touchdown came on a 12-yard pass from JaMarcus Russell.
Doucet began playing a bigger part on the team his sophomore year, during which he played in 12 games and started five. He did not play in the 2005 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against the University of Miami Hurricanes due to an ankle injury, which he got during the SEC Championship Game against Georgia. He finished the season with 26 catches for 389 yards and five touchdowns.[2]
In his junior year, Doucet played in 13 games with six starts, playing with Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis to form a dangerous receiver corps. He improved his statistics drastically, finishing the season with 59 catches for 772 yards and eight touchdowns. He also rushed the ball eight times for 59 yards and two touchdowns.[3] He played an instrumental role in the 2007 Sugar Bowl, where he caught eight passes for 115 yards in a rout of Notre Dame.[4]
As a senior in 2007, Doucet recorded 57 receptions, 525 yards, and five touchdowns.[5]
Professional career
editPre-draft
editDoucet was regarded as one of the better wide receivers available in the 2008 NFL draft,[6][7][8] and drew comparisons to Reggie Wayne.[9] Since he neither has the speed nor size of elite wideout prospects, Doucet was projected as second to third round pick and a "No. 3 receiver" in the NFL.[7][9]
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
203 lb (92 kg) |
4.56 s | 4.55 s | 7.47 s | 34+1⁄2 in (0.88 m) |
9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) | ||||||
| All values from LSU Pro Day[10] | ||||||||||||
Arizona Cardinals
editDoucet was picked in the third round by the Arizona Cardinals with the 81st pick overall.[11]
In his NFL debut against the Buffalo Bills in Week 5, Doucet caught six passes for 42 yards. To round out his rookie season, Doucet reached Super Bowl XLIII with the Cardinals.[12] Arizona played the Pittsburgh Steelers for the NFL championship on February 1, 2009, resulting in a Cardinals' loss.
During the 2010 season, Doucet was out for several weeks after fracturing his ribs in Arizona's third preseason game.[13] Doucet caught his first career playoff touchdown, a 15-yarder with 9:16 remaining in the first quarter of the NFC Wild Card playoff game between the Cardinals and Green Bay Packers on January 10, 2010. Doucet scored another touchdown with 2:16 before the half.
Before the 2011 season, Doucet changed his number from 80 to 85 to symbolize a new start. He finished the 2011 season with 54 receptions, 689 yards and five touchdowns, all career highs, in his fourth NFL season, which also included a couple long touchdown catches against the Carolina Panthers (70 yards) and San Francisco 49ers (60 yards).[14]
On March 9, 2013, Doucet was released by the Arizona Cardinals.[15]
Seattle Seahawks
editOn August 2, 2013, Doucet agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks.[16] Doucet was released five days later after only one practice session.[17] Head coach Pete Carroll was dismissive when asked by the media why the sudden release of the wideout, however the official NFL transaction wire notes that Doucet was released with a "failure to disclose physical condition" tag.
References
edit- ^ "Early Doucet 2004 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ "Early Doucet 2005 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ "Early Doucet 2006 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ "Doucet Emerges As LSU's Go-To Guy". 247Sports. August 19, 2007. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ "Early Doucet 2007 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
- ^ Cooney, Frank (April 3, 2008), "Any prize catches? Inside the draft's WR corps", USA Today
- ^ a b Fiutak, Pete (April 9, 2008), "2008 NFL Draft – Ranking The Receivers", College Football News, archived from the original on October 11, 2016, retrieved August 18, 2009
- ^ Coyle, Frank, "NFL Draft: 2008 Wide Receiver Rankings", Rivals.com
- ^ a b "Pro Football War Room: Early Doucet", SportingNews.com, April 27, 2008
- ^ LSU Pro Day Results
- ^ "2008 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
- ^ "LSU's Doucet in Super Bowl as Rookie". NBC33TV.
- ^ "Early Doucet: Cards lose Doucet indefinitely".
- ^ "Early Doucet 2011 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ Urban, Darren (March 9, 2013). "Early Doucet Cut, Brian Hoyer Tendered". azcardinals.com. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
- ^ Wesseling, Chris (August 2, 2013). "Early Doucet, Seattle Seahawks agree to contract". NFL.com. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
- ^ Rosenthal, Gregg (August 7, 2013). "Early Doucet cut by Seattle Seahawks after 1 practice". NFL.com. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
External links
edit
- Early Doucet at NFL.com
- LSU Tigers bio Archived February 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
