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| Position | Wide receiver /Return specialist | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1984-09-12)September 12, 1984 (age 41) Houma, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | L.W. Higgins(Marrero, Louisiana) | ||||||||
| College | LSU | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2006: 4th round, 125th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Stats at ArenaFan.com | |||||||||
Skyler Levon Green (born September 12, 1984) is an American former professionalfootball player who was awide receiver andreturn specialist in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDallas Cowboys,Cincinnati Bengals andNew Orleans Saints. He also was a member of theEdmonton Eskimos in theCanadian Football League (CFL) and theNew Orleans VooDoo of theArena Football League (AFL). He playedcollege football for theLSU Tigers, earningAll-American honors.
Green was born and raised in the New Orleans suburb ofWestwego. He attendedL.W. Higgins High School, where he played as a multi-threatquarterback. As a senior, he rushed for 2,174 yards on 194 carries, while receiving All-State, MVP of district and MVP of the All-New Orleans Metro team. He had 224 rushing yards and 124 passing yards in a first round 5A state playoff loss againstCatholic High School.
Green accepted a football scholarship fromLouisiana State University, over Alabama and Louisiana Tech.[1] He was originally recruited as arunning back, but switched towide receiver to get more playing time.
During his career, Green was also particularly dangerous as a punt returner, returning his first punt as a Tiger for a touchdown at Arizona in 2003. He finished his LSU career with four punt returns for touchdowns, also scoring against theFlorida Gators in 2003, theVanderbilt Commodores in 2004, and theAuburn Tigers in 2005. On LSU's 2003 National Championship Team, Green led the nation in yards-per-return, at 18.5.
He played for LSU for four seasons and caught 111 passes for 1,129 yards and nine touchdowns. He finished ranked No. 1 in school history for punts returned for touchdowns (4), No. 2 in punt return yards (1,064) and just outside the top 10 in all-purpose yards (3,243). He led the nation in punt returns with an 18.5 average in 2003.
As a true freshman, he stepped in as one of LSU's three primary receivers afterDevery Henderson broke his arm in the 11th game of the season against theUniversity of Mississippi. The next week, at Arkansas, Green took aMarcus Randall screen pass 67 yards for a touchdown and had a total of 92 receiving yards. He appeared in 7 games, making 7 receptions for 123 yards, one touchdown and 3 carries for 28 yards.
As a sophomore, he remained one of the Tigers' three primary receivers, afterJerel Myers graduated. Green caught 48 passes for 519 yards and 5 touchdowns. He was considered one of the best college punt returners, leading the nation in punt returns with an 18.5-yard average on 25 returns, for a total of 462 punt returns yards. He had an 80-yard touchdown return against theUniversity of Florida and a 62-yard touchdown return against theUniversity of Arizona.
His best play of the year was against #7 Georgia (televised by CBS). With the score tied 10–10 with 1:22 left in the game, LSU faced a third and four from Georgia's 34. On what looked like a busted play, Green sprinted free for quarterbackMatt Mauck, who lofted the ball toward Green just as he was getting hit by Georgia linebackerOdell Thurman. Green sprinted under the ball, dove to the ground in the end zone and caught the pass for a game-winning touchdown, sending the LSU-record crowd of 92,251 into a frenzy. A photo of catch was featured the next week inSports Illustrated.[2]
As a junior, even thoughMichael Clayton and Devery Henderson graduated, Green still had to compete withCraig Davis,Dwayne Bowe, andEarly Doucet for time as one of LSU's three primary receivers.[3]
Green suffered a high ankle sprain in the team's second scrimmage of fall camp and then re-injured it in the season-opener againstOregon State University. He was limited the rest of the season.[4] He had 6 receptions for 59 yards and 2 touchdowns in the loss against theUniversity of Iowa in the2005 Capital One Bowl. He finished with 24 catches, 219 yards, and 3 touchdowns.
He returned 11 kickoffs for 249 yards, 25 punts for 243 yards and one touchdown. He ranked fourth in the SEC with a 9.7-yard average. He returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown againstVanderbilt University.
As a senior, he appeared in 13 games with 4 starts. He caught 32 passes for 268 yards and 16 carries for 126 yards. He returned 27 punts for 359 yards (13.3-yard average) and 18 kickoffs for 355 yards (19.7-yard average). He set the school record for punt returns for touchdowns, with his fourth on a 66-yarder in a win overAuburn University. He was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year after ranking third in the conference in punt returns with a 13.3-yard average. He was named third-teamAll-American by theAssociated Press.
Green had 9 receptions for 63 yards, 5 punt returns for 78 yards, including a 37-yarder that set up a touchdown and returned a kickoff 30 yards in a win overMississippi State University. He was used in multiple positions in LSU's 40–3 win against theUniversity of Miami in the2005 Peach Bowl. He returned punts and kickoffs, as well as playing a few snaps at quarterback and his usual position of wide receiver.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft9+1⁄8 in (1.76 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | 29+1⁄2 in (0.75 m) | 8+3⁄8 in (0.21 m) | 4.51 s | 1.58 s | 2.65 s | 4.20 s | 6.84 s | 34.0 in (0.86 m) | 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) | ||
| All values fromNFL Combine/Pro Day[5][6] | ||||||||||||
Green was selected by theDallas Cowboys in the fourth round (125th overall) in the2006 NFL draft.[7] On September 2, he was waived and subsequently signed to thepractice squad on September 4, where he was converted torunning back.[8] He was promoted to the active roster on October 13. He was active in two games, returning 5 punts and 3 kickoffs. He was released two months later on December 7 to make room for safetyTony Parrish.[9] He was promoted to the active roster on December 11. He was released on December 14, to make room for tight endAndy Thorn.
On December 15, 2006, Green was claimed off waivers by theCincinnati Bengals.[10] He did not play the rest of the season and was moved back to thewide receiver position. In 2007, he appeared in 7 games where he was the team's punt returner. He was declared inactive for the eighth contest of the season. On November 5, he was waived to make room on the roster for wide receiverChris Henry, who was returning from an eight-game suspension.[11] He was re-signed to the practice squad on November 7, where he spent the remainder of the season.
On January 3, 2008, he was signed as afree agent by theNew Orleans Saints.[12] He was released during final cuts on August 30 and re-signed to the practice squad one day later.[13] He was promoted to the active roster on December 20, appearing in the final two games and returning four kickoffs for 160 yards. He averaged 33.3 yards in his brief duty, including returns of 60 and 42 yards. He was waived on September 5, 2009.
Green was signed by theEdmonton Eskimos on October 6, 2009. He was released on December 16, after an injury-plagued2010 season.[14]
In 2011, 2012 and 2014, he was a member of theNew Orleans VooDoo of theArena Football League.[15]