Matt Elam

Matt Elam

Elam representing the Ravens at a charity event in 2013.
No. 26 Baltimore Ravens
Position:	Strong safety
Personal information
Date of birth:	September 21, 1991
Place of birth:	Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Height:	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school:	Palm Beach Gardens (FL) Dwyer
College:	Florida
NFL draft:	2013 / Round: 1 / Pick: 32
Career history
Baltimore Ravens (2013–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-American (2012) First-team All-SEC (2012)
Career NFL statistics as of 2015
Tackles: 127 Sacks: 0.5 Interceptions: 1 Passes defended: 7 Player stats at NFL.com

Matthew D. Elam (born September 21, 1991) is an American football safety for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Florida, where he earned All-American honors. He was drafted by the Ravens in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Early years

Elam was born in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He attended William T. Dwyer High School in Palm Beach Gardens, where he played linebacker, defensive back, running back and wide receiver for the Dwyer Panthers high school football team. As a senior, he had 1,883 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns. He was named Gatorade High School Football Player of the Year and Mr. Football for the state of Florida,^[1][2] and a USA Today high school All-American. He played in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, where he announced his intent to play at the University of Florida during the game. He is the younger brother of former NFL safety Abram Elam.^[3][4]

College career

Elam accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Urban Meyer and coach Will Muschamp's Florida Gators football teams from 2010 to 2012. As a freshman in 2010, Elam played in all 13 games and recorded 22 tackles. As a full-time starter during his 2011 sophomore season, he had 78 tackles, two interceptions and two quarterback sacks. Following his junior season in 2012, he was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press, The Sporting News, CBS Sports, Scout.com and Sports Illustrated, as well as a second-team selection by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. He was also a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection and a semifinalist for both the Thorpe Award and Bednarik Award.

College statistics

Career statistics			Tackles			Sacks	Interceptions			Other
Season	Games	Starts	Solo	Ast	Total	Sack	TFL	Int	Yds	IntTD	DefTD	FFum	FRec	PD
2010	13	0	16	6	22	1.0	1.5	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
2011	13	13	50	28	78	2.0	11.0	2	18	0	0	2	0	7
2012	13	13	58	18	76	2.0	11.0	4	73	0	0	1	0	5
Totals	39	26	124	52	176	5.0	23.5	6	91	0	0	3	0	13

^{[5] [6]}

Professional career

2013 NFL Draft

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	Arm length	Hand size	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
5 ft 10 in	208 lb	32 in	9 in	4.43 s	1.58 s	2.53 s			35.5 in	9 ft 10 in	17 reps
All values from NFL Combine [7]

Elam was viewed as one of the top safeties in 2013 years draft class. Some experts and scouts said he lacked size for a safety with just a height of 5' 10" and maybe should be moved to corner because of that. He is known for his ability to make electrifying plays all over the field and for his emotional leadership. Most experts projected Elam to go in the mid to late first round of the NFL Draft.^[8]

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens selected him in the first round (32nd overall pick) of the 2013 NFL Draft.^[9] On December 16, 2013, Elam had a breakout performance against the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football, recording 10 tackles and his first career interception. After a promising rookie campaign, Elam struggled the following year causing him to lose playing time. On August 31, Elam was placed on injured reserve, after suffering a torn bicep.^[10]

On May 2, 2016 the Ravens optioned not to pick up the fifth year of his contract.^[11]

NFL career statistics

Note: Statistics are correct through Week 17 of the 2014 NFL season.

Regular season statistics				Tackles					Interceptions						Fumbles
Season	Team	GP	GS	Comb	Total	Ast	Sck	Sfty	PDef	Int	Yds	Avg	Lng	TDs	FF
2013	Baltimore Ravens	16	15	77	54	23	0.0	--	3	1	18	18.0	18	0	0
2014	Baltimore Ravens	16	11	50	31	19	0.5	--	4	0	--	--	--	0	1
	Total	32	26	127	85	42	0.5	0	7	1	18	18.0	18	0	1

See also

• 2012 College Football All-America Team
• List of Florida Gators football All-Americans
• List of Florida Gators football players in the NFL

References

1. GATORADE NAMES MATT ELAM FLORIDA PLAYER OF THE YEAR
2. MATT ELAM WILL BE NAMED 2009 MR. FOOTBALL
3. "Elam succeeds in the wake of tragedy". espn.go.com. Retrieved December 22, 2009.
4. "UF's Elam shows strength in times of tragedy". foxsportsflorida.com. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
5. http://www.cfbstats.com/2012/player/235/1031892/index.html
6. http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/gamelog/_/id/501556/year/2012/matt-elam
7. http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/matt-elam?id=2540153
8. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1737092
9. "Chiefs make Eric Fisher top pick". ESPN. April 25, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
10. "Ravens Place Matt Elam, Three Others On Injured Reserve". baltimoreravens.com. August 31, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
11. Hensley, Jamison. espn.com. ESPN http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/bal/baltimore-ravens. Retrieved 2 May 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

• Matt Elam – Baltimore Ravens player profile
• Matt Elam – Florida Gators athlete profile