Antonio Pittman

Antonio Pittman (born December 19, 1985) is a firefighter and a former American football running back. He played college football at Ohio State. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft and later played for the St. Louis Rams.

Antonio Pittman
No. 30
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1985-12-19) December 19, 1985
Akron, Ohio
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:207 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school:Buchtel (Akron, Ohio)
College:Ohio State
NFL Draft:2007 / Round: 4 / Pick: 107
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Rushing attempts:117
Rushing yards:435
Rushing touchdowns:0
Receptions:21
Receiving yards:147
Receiving touchdowns:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Pittman attended Buchtel High School in Akron, Ohio, where he earned All-Ohio honors as a senior. Pittman majored in African American and African Studies at Ohio State. On Pittman's left arm is a tattoo honoring his brother, Anthony, who died at the age of 23.[1] While in high school Pittman lived with his sister.[1] He has one daughter, Keilyn.

College career

2005

Despite a slow start to the 2005 season, he finished the year with 1,331 yards rushing and seven touchdowns on 243 carries. His rushing yardage was the 10th-best single-season mark in school history and only Archie Griffin gained more yards (1,577) as a sophomore.[2] His rushing total was the 11th highest in the NCAA that season and 5th best in the Big Ten Conference.[3] In addition to running, Pittman made 17 receptions for 161 yards in 2005.

In his first appearance, Pittman rushed for 100 yards on 14 carries against Miami University. His career-high is 186 yards in a game against the University of Minnesota, where he also scored his first touchdown of the season.[4] He scored the winning touchdown in the 2005 game against the Michigan Wolverines. His run around the Michigan defensive line for a three-yard touchdown run came with just 24 seconds left in the game.[5] In the next game, he clinched the 2006 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish by erupting for a 60-yard touchdown run with 1:46 left in the game, despite having an injured hamstring.[5] In 2005, he became just the fourth sophomore in Ohio State annals to rush for 1,000 or more yards in a season, joining Archie Griffin, Vince Workman and Keith Byars.[5]

2006
Troy Smith hands off to Pittman against Texas

In 2006, quarterback Troy Smith said of Pittman, "Everybody knows who he is in the state of Ohio, but I think nationally, he's one of the top three backs."[6]

Pittman averaged more than five yards per carry in his three seasons, playing in 35 games, rushing for an average of 84 yards per game.[7] He currently ranks 8th on Ohio State's all-time rushing list.

At the beginning of the 2006 season some called for split playing time between Pittman and freshman Chris Wells, another Akron native. However, Pittman's strong resume in 2005 and early successes guaranteed his role as starter.[8]

As the starting running back, Pittman displayed the ability to compile impressive statistics. In games against Northern Illinois, Cincinnati, Penn State, and Iowa he rushed for over 100 yards and scored touchdowns. Also, during the game at then #2 Texas he scored a touchdown. Against the Florida Gators in the BCS National Championship, Pittman rushed for 62 yards and one of Ohio State's two scores. On January 15, 2007, Pittman made the decision to forgo his senior year and declared himself eligible for the NFL Draft.

Career statistics
YearTeamGAttYardsAvgTD
2004Ohio State Buckeyes10723815.31
2005Ohio State Buckeyes122431,3315.57
2006Ohio State Buckeyes132421,2755.314
Total355572,9455.322

Professional career

Pre-draft
Pre-draft measureables
Height Weight 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20 ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP Wonderlic
5-10¾ * 207 * 4.40 * 1.52 * 2.53 * 4.16 * 6.84 * 35½" * 10'03" * 16 * ×
* represents NFL Combine

New Orleans Saints

Antonio Pittman was selected in the 4th round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. Pittman was cut on September 1, 2007 to make room on the roster for Pierre Thomas.

St. Louis Rams
Pittman carries the ball against the San Francisco 49ers in November 2008.

Pittman was claimed off of waivers by the St. Louis Rams the day after he was released by the Saints. Pittman played in 11 games for the Rams. He saw action as a reserve running back and on special teams. For the season he rushed 38 times for 139 yards and added three receptions for 15 yards. In 2008 Pittman played in 12 games and started five in place of Steven Jackson. He carried the ball 79 times for 296 yards and no touchdowns. He caught 18 passes for 132 yards.

Pittman was waived on September 5, 2009.

Personal

On September 4, 2015, Pittman graduated from the Ohio Fire Academy with the intent of becoming a firefighter.[9] On December 14, 2017 he joined the Middletown Division of Fire.[10] Pittman would later join the Columbus Division of Fire in 2020.[11]

gollark: God is dead.
gollark: Maybe a "take an item, leave an item" stand.
gollark: I really ought to somehow acquire extra content for the Division.
gollark: Block scanners.
gollark: It was temporarily but I couldn't work out how to link it up to the corridors.

References
  1. "Under the Helmet with Antonio Pittman" (Press release). Ohio State Department of Athletics. 2006-09-23. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
  2. Record Book (Part 1) Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
  3. NCAA Division I-A Rushing Leaders
  4. empty
  5. Ridenour, Marla (2006-08-16). "No back bone to pick". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved 2006-08-31.
  6. Gordon, Ken (2006-08-31). "Ground Rules". Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2006-08-31.
  7. "Antonio Pittman Stats". DI Statistics. NCAA. 2006-09-16. Retrieved 2006-09-21.
  8. Pluto, Terry (2006-09-17). "Pittman well-suited for OSU". Akron Beacon Journal. Archived from the original on 2006-10-30. Retrieved 2006-09-21.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-14. Retrieved 2015-09-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. Richter, Ed (December 14, 2017). "Middletown's newest firefighters include former NFL player, city native". Journal-News. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  11. Crisp, Lacey (February 17, 2020). "Former Ohio State running back Antonio Pittman becomes Columbus firefighter". WBNS-TV. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
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