A. J. Cruz
A. J. Cruz (born February 20, 1991) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a member of the Edmonton Eskimos. Cruz played college football for Brown University.
Cruz playing for the Arizona Rattlers | |||||||||||
No. 89 – Edmonton Eskimos | |||||||||||
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Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Lake Forest, California | February 20, 1991||||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Rancho Santa Margarita (CA) Catholic | ||||||||||
College: | Brown | ||||||||||
Undrafted: | 2013 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
Career Arena statistics | |||||||||||
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Player stats at ArenaFan.com |
High school career
Cruz attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School, in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. He lettered in both Football and Basketball. As a football player, Cruz was named a two time All-Trinity League selection, and holds three school records for longest kick off return for a Touch Down (97 yards), highest kickoff return average (34 yards) and highest vertical jump (37 inches). Cruz helped lead his schools basketball team to a state championship, and was named to the California Scholarship Federation.[1]
College career
Cruz attended Brown University. As a freshman, Cruz earned Second Team All-Ivy Honors. As a sophomore, Cruz was selected for First Team All-Ivy Honors, while registering 2 interceptions and ranked second in both punt and kickoff returns.[1]
In his senior season, Cruz earned First Team All-American honors. Cruz is one of 41 players in Ivy League history to earn First Team All-Ivy three times.
Professional career
Los Angeles KISS
Cruz joined the Los Angeles KISS in 2014. He returned 58 kickoffs for 1,305 yards in 11 games his rookie season.[2] He was placed on recallable reassignment on March 13, 2015.[3]
Arizona Rattlers
In the middle of the 2015 season, Cruz signed with the Arizona Rattlers as mostly a kick returner.
Chicago Bears
On July 27, 2015, the Bears signed Cruz to a three-year deal.[4] On September 5, 2015, he was waived/injured by the Bears.[5]
Miami Dolphins
On February 18, 2016, the Dolphins signed Cruz to a deal. On August 27, 2016, Cruz was waived by the Dolphins.[6]
References
- "12 - AJ Cruz". www.brownbears.com. Brown University. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
- "AJ Cruz". www.arenafootball.com. Arena Football League. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
- "Team Transactions". arenafan.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- Jeff Dickerson (July 28, 2015). "Bears sign DL David Carter, WR AJ Cruz". www.espn.go.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
- Mayer, Larry (September 5, 2015). "Bears make cuts to reduce roster to 53". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
- "Dolphins make roster moves". MiamiDolphins.com. August 27, 2016.