1. Dennis Pitta played college football for the BYU Cougars, earning consensus All-American honors in 2009.
49 Facts About Dennis Pitta
1. 2.
Dennis Pitta was selected by the Ravens in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft.
3.
Dennis Pitta's father played college football as a middle linebacker for California from 1968 to 1969.
4.
Dennis Pitta attended Moorpark High School in Moorpark, California, where he earned letters in football, basketball, and track.
5.
Dennis Pitta played football as a wide receiver and cornerback, and his large size made him difficult to cover.
6.
Dennis Pitta was a scholar-athlete all four years in high school and was named a National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete.
7.
Dennis Pitta was shown interest by Dartmouth, Navy, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Utah, and Yale, but no Division I school offered him a scholarship.
8.
Dennis Pitta chose to attend Brigham Young University, where he walked onto the BYU Cougars football team as a wide receiver.
9.
Dennis Pitta was moved to tight end by head coach Gary Crowton, where he soon earned a scholarship.
10.
Dennis Pitta sat out the 2003 season on "grayshirt" status.
11.
Dennis Pitta recorded 17 receptions for 176 yards and two touchdowns, and actually finished the season with more receptions than Coats.
12.
Dennis Pitta is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
13.
Dennis Pitta served a mission for the church in the Dominican Republic, which caused a two-year hiatus in his college football career.
14.
Dennis Pitta returned to BYU for the 2007 season, and recorded 59 receptions for 813 yards and five touchdowns.
15.
Dennis Pitta finished the season as the nation's fifth-leading tight end in yards per game at 63.
16.
Dennis Pitta was named to the All-Mountain West Conference first-team, and he received Academic All-MWC honors.
17.
Dennis Pitta was a Lombardi Award and Biletnikoff Award candidate, and a Mackey Award semifinalist.
18.
Dennis Pitta was named to the All-MWC first-team, and again received Academic All-MWC honors.
19.
Dennis Pitta finished the 2009 season with 62 receptions for 829 yards and eight touchdowns.
20.
Dennis Pitta was one of three finalists for the Mackey Award.
21.
Dennis Pitta was named to the 2009 All-MWC first-team and the 2009 AFCA Coaches' All-America team.
22.
Dennis Pitta was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft.
23.
Dennis Pitta was signed to a three-year contract on June 21,2010.
24.
Dennis Pitta recorded his first career reception for one yard in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
25.
Dennis Pitta improved greatly in the 2011 season, becoming a common target for quarterback Joe Flacco and contributing to a dangerous tight end tandem alongside starter Ed Dickson.
26.
Dennis Pitta did not score a touchdown until a Week 12 Thanksgiving Day matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.
27.
Dennis Pitta scored his second touchdown of the season two weeks later in a game against the Indianapolis Colts.
28.
Dennis Pitta finished the year with 40 catches, 405 yards and three touchdowns.
29.
Dennis Pitta played a steady role in the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots, catching five passes for 41 yards, including the Ravens' first touchdown of the game.
30.
Dennis Pitta recorded 61 passes for 669 yards and seven touchdowns.
31.
In both the Divisional round against the Broncos and the AFC Championship against the Patriots, Dennis Pitta had 55 yards apiece, scoring a touchdown in the latter.
32.
Dennis Pitta finished the playoffs with 14 catches, 163 yards and three touchdowns.
33.
Dennis Pitta was ranked 100th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013.
34.
On May 13,2013, the Ravens announced that Dennis Pitta signed his second round restricted free agent tender worth $2.023 million.
35.
On July 27,2013, Dennis Pitta suffered a dislocated and fractured hip during training camp and underwent surgery the same night.
36.
Dennis Pitta was not immediately placed on injured reserve and examinations of the hip revealed no ligament or cartilage damage, but he was still expected to miss the entire season.
37.
In Week 14 of the 2013 season, Dennis Pitta returned to on field action for first time since Super Bowl XLVII.
38.
On February 28,2014, the Baltimore Ravens and Dennis Pitta agreed to a five-year $32 million contract.
39.
Dennis Pitta underwent surgery on the same hip the next day and it prematurely ended his 2014 season after three games.
40.
On September 1,2015, Dennis Pitta was placed on the PUP list.
41.
Dennis Pitta was placed on season ending injured reserve later that day, but he stated that he had not yet elected to retire from the NFL.
42.
In 2016, Dennis Pitta announced that he was going to return to football whenever he was cleared to play.
43.
In Week 17, Dennis Pitta had a career-high 11 receptions for 91 yards in the loss to the Bengals.
44.
Dennis Pitta had statistically his best season, recording a career-high 86 receptions, most in the league by a tight end, and a career-high 729 yards, although he only caught two touchdown passes.
45.
Dennis Pitta recorded his first career fumble during the game against Miami.
46.
On June 2,2017, Dennis Pitta suffered another hip injury during organized team activities on a non-contact play.
47.
Dennis Pitta agreed to do color commentary on Ravens radio broadcasts for the first four games of the season, joining three other fellow Ravens alumni in the rotation.
48.
Dennis Pitta is married to Mataya Gissel, whom he met while attending BYU.
49.
Dennis Pitta is brothers-in-law with former Arizona Cardinals' Max Hall, who is married to Gissel's sister, Mckinzi Hall.