56 Facts About James Laurinaitis

1.

James Richard Laurinaitis was born on December 3,1986 and is an American football coach and former player.

2.

James Laurinaitis is the current assistant linebackers coach for Ohio State.

3.

James Laurinaitis played as a linebacker for the St Louis Rams and New Orleans Saints of the National Football League.

4.

James Laurinaitis played college football at Ohio State, where he was a three-time consensus All-American and won numerous awards.

5.

James Laurinaitis was drafted by the Rams in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

6.

James Laurinaitis was raised in a family of athletes; his father Joe, a WWE Hall of Famer known as "Road Warrior Animal", and two uncles were professional wrestlers.

7.

James Laurinaitis attended Wayzata High School, and played high school football and hockey.

8.

James Laurinaitis was touted as a potential second or third-round National Hockey League draft pick, but teams didn't draft him because it was thought that he was more likely to pursue a football career.

9.

James Laurinaitis was named Defensive Mr Football in Minnesota in 2004.

10.

In 2006 James Laurinaitis won the Nagurski Award as the nation's best defensive player, and was named a finalist for the Butkus and Bednarik awards.

11.

James Laurinaitis was a first-team All-Big Ten selection, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American.

12.

James Laurinaitis won the Butkus Award for most outstanding college linebacker in 2007.

13.

James Laurinaitis was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American in 2007, having been named to the first-teams of multiple selectors including the Associated Press, the American Football Coaches Association, FWAA, Sporting News, the Walter Camp Foundation, and Rivals.

14.

James Laurinaitis was honored as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

15.

James Laurinaitis was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American for the third consecutive year.

16.

James Laurinaitis was a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, presented to the nation's top defender by the Maxwell Club of Philadelphia and one of five defensive players among fifteen finalists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year award.

17.

James Laurinaitis started all thirteen games, becoming the fourth player in school history to lead the team in tackles three times in a career, as he ranked second in the Big Ten and 14th nationally with an average of 10.0 tackles per game.

18.

James Laurinaitis recorded a career-high 130 tackles that included four sacks, seven stops for losses and one quarterback pressure, caused a fumble, deflected four passes and picked off two others.

19.

James Laurinaitis is the only player to ever win two Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year awards.

20.

James Laurinaitis attended the NFL Scouting Combine and performed all of the combine and positional drills.

21.

James Laurinaitis was ranked as the second best inside linebacker prospect in the draft by DraftScout.

22.

James Laurinaitis was the fourth linebacker drafted in 2009, behind Aaron Curry, Brian Cushing, and Clay Matthews III.

23.

James Laurinaitis entered training camp slated as the starting middle linebacker, replacing Will Witherspoon.

24.

Head coach Steve Spagnuolo named James Laurinaitis the starting middle linebacker to begin the regular season.

25.

James Laurinaitis made his first career interception off a pass by Vikings' quarterback Brett Favre, that was originally intended for wide receiver Bernard Berrian, and returned it for a seven-yard gain in the second quarter.

26.

James Laurinaitis made his first career sack on quarterback Matt Hasselbeck for a seven-yard loss in the first quarter.

27.

James Laurinaitis started in all 16 games during his rookie season in 2009 and recorded 120 combined tackles, five pass deflections, two interceptions, two sacks, and a forced fumble.

28.

James Laurinaitis earned the Carroll Rosenbloom Memorial Award, which goes to the Rams rookie of the year.

29.

James Laurinaitis was named to the NFL All-Rookie team by Sporting News.

30.

James Laurinaitis intercepted a pass by quarterback Matt Moore, that was originally a flea flicker intended for wide receiver Steve Smith Sr.

31.

James Laurinaitis started all 16 games in 2010 and finished his second season with 114 combined tackles, five pass deflections, three sacks, and an interception.

32.

James Laurinaitis retained his starting middle linebacker role in 2011 and started alongside outside linebackers Bryan Kehl and Ronald Bartell.

33.

James Laurinaitis started all 16 games and finished the 2011 season with a career-high 142 combined tackles, seven passes defensed, three sacks, and two interceptions.

34.

James Laurinaitis entered training camp slated as the starting middle linebacker.

35.

James Laurinaitis intercepted a pass by Cardinals' quarterback Ryan Lindley, that was intended for wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, and returned it for an 18-yard gain in the fourth quarter.

36.

James Laurinaitis started in all 16 games in 2012 and recorded a career-high 142 combined tackles, five pass deflections, two interceptions, and was credited with half a sack.

37.

James Laurinaitis started in all 16 games and recorded 116 combined tackles, a career-high nine pass deflections, 3.5 sacks, and two interceptions.

38.

James Laurinaitis started in all 16 games in 2014 and recorded 109 combined tackles, 3.5 sacks, and two pass deflections.

39.

James Laurinaitis returned as the starting middle linebacker in 2015, along with outside linebackers Alec Ogletree and Akeem Ayers.

40.

James Laurinaitis earned his 916th tackle during the game which moved him into first-place on the franchise's all-time list.

41.

James Laurinaitis tackled running back Mike Davis for a one-yard loss in the endzone for a safety in the first quarter.

42.

James Laurinaitis started in all 16 games in 2015 and recorded 109 combined tackles, a pass deflection, a sack, an interception, and a safety.

43.

James Laurinaitis finished his tenure with the Rams with 852 combined tackles, 34 pass deflections, 16.5 sacks, and ten interceptions and started every single regular season game over eight seasons.

44.

James Laurinaitis's streak stood at 112 consecutive starts at the time of his release.

45.

James Laurinaitis attended meetings with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons.

46.

Head coach Sean Payton named James Laurinaitis the starting middle linebacker to begin the regular season, along with outside linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Stephone Anthony.

47.

James Laurinaitis sustained an injury to his quadriceps during the Saints' loss to the Falcons and was sidelined for the next two games.

48.

James Laurinaitis's injury ended his streak of 115 consecutive starts.

49.

On November 5,2016, James Laurinaitis was placed on injured reserve after re-injuring his quadriceps.

50.

On November 17,2016, James Laurinaitis was waived by the Saints from the injured reserve.

51.

James Laurinaitis finished the season with 17 combined tackles and a pass deflection in five games and three starts.

52.

James Laurinaitis entered the coaching profession in 2022 when he was named a graduate assistant and assistant linebackers coach for Notre Dame under former Ohio State teammate Marcus Freeman.

53.

James Laurinaitis is one of two children born to Joseph and Julie James Laurinaitis.

54.

James Laurinaitis comes from a family that has significant ties to Professional wrestling.

55.

James Laurinaitis's other uncle, John, wrestled as Johnny Ace and was a star in Japan, later becoming an executive with WWE.

56.

On March 23,2013, James Laurinaitis married Shelly Williams whom he met while attending Ohio State University.