| No. 35 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Safety |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (1983-07-14)July 14, 1983 (age 41) Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight: | 231 lb (105 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | King (Detroit) |
| College: | Michigan |
| Undrafted: | 2005 |
| Career history | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats atPro Football Reference | |
Ernest Haskel Shazor (born July 13, 1983) is an American former professionalfootball player who was asafety for one season with theArizona Cardinals of theNational Football League (NFL) . He playedcollege football for theMichigan Wolverines, earning consensusAll-American honors in 2004. He joined the Cardinals as anundrafted free agent.
Shazor was born inDetroit,Michigan. He attendedMartin Luther King High School in Detroit, where he played for the King Crusaders high school football team. As a senior in 2000, he led the Crusaders to their first Detroit Public School League title since 1991. TheParade magazine high school All-American was selected Michigan Player of the Year byUSA Today in his final campaign. He was rated the best prep prospect in the Midwest and the No. 3 defensive back in the nation by SuperPrep. He was a consensus all-state choice and a member ofThe Detroit News ' Blue Chip List (top-rated player).[1][2][3]
He recorded 224 tackles, caused two fumbles, blocked eight punts and intercepted 21 passes as a safety, and tallied 11 receptions and four touchdowns as a wide receiver during his last two years at MLK. Shazor was credited with 97 tackles, eight interceptions, two forced fumbles and blocked two punts during his senior year.[4] He was also part of thetrack team at MLK where he ran a personal best 10.7 in the100 meter dash.[3]
Shazor attended theUniversity of Michigan, and played for coachLloyd Carr'sMichigan Wolverines football team for three years from 2002 to 2004.[5] Shazorredshirted as a freshman and appeared in 12 games as a reserve safety in 2002, posting 25 tackles (18 solos) with a four-yard sack and two forced fumbles. He took over strong safety duties in 2003, starting the final 11 games. Shazor finished fourth on the team with 57 tackles (40 unassisted), adding eight stops behind the line of scrimmage, two interceptions and three pass deflections.[6]
As a junior in 2004, Shazor started every game at strong safety and led Michigan with 84 overall tackles (17 solo), 10 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries.[6] At the end of the 2004 season, Shazor was selected as a first-teamAll-American by the Associated Press,[7] Football Writers Association of American, Walter Camp Football Foundation, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, CBS Sports, College Football News, and Rivals.com. He was also a finalist for the covetedJim Thorpe Award.[8]
In three seasons with the Wolverines from 2002 to 2004, Shazor was credited with 166 overall tackles (125 solo), 19 tackles for loss, three sacks for minus-23 yards, eight pass break-ups, five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He also had four interceptions for 123 yards in returns and a touchdown.[6]
In January 2005, Shazor announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility in order to play professional football.[9] Though undrafted in the2005 NFL draft, Shazor was signed as a free agent by theArizona Cardinals in April 2005.[10] He was activated on the Cardinals' roster in mid-November 2005,[11] and he played in two games for the Cardinals during the2005 NFL season.[12] The Cardinals announced Shazor's release and granted him an injury settlement September 4, 2006.[13]
In December 2006, Shazor agreed to a one-year contract with theOrlando Predators of theArena Football League.[14] In February 2007, the Predators announced that Shazor had not shown up for training camp, and no explanation had been given for his absence.[15] Nearly two weeks later,The Orlando Sentinel reported that the "mystery surrounding" Shazor continued as he had still not shown up in the Predators' training camp.[16] He was put on waivers by the Predators in May 2007.[17]