In his younger years, his family moved between Las Vegas, South Jersey and Fort Lauderlade. He attended Tarpon Springs High School, where he began to play organized football. He initially accepted a half football scholarship from the University of Central Florida, where he became a four-year starter and is recognized as the greatest center in school history.[1]
In 2004, he was named to the Orlando Sentinel's 25th Anniversary University of Central Florida Football Team.[2] He also was inducted into UCF Athletics Hall of Fame.[3]
Professional careeredit
Dallas Cowboysedit
Gruttadauria was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys in 1995, after not being selected in the NFL Draft because he was considered to be too small to play at the professional level. On August 22, he was released along with the entire practice squad when the team signed Deion Sanders and the Cowboys didn't have enough salary cap room to keep the players.[4]
St. Louis Ramsedit
In 1996, he was signed as a free agent by the St. Louis Rams after being out of football for a year, and was named the starting center for the last 3 games of the season. Though he entered each year with the Rams as the starter, injuries and knee surgeries limited his starts.
He was injured through most of the 1998 season but returned strong in 1999, starting all 16 games for the Super Bowl-winning team. That year in the playoffs, with Kurt Warner at quarterback, St. Louis led the NFL with 526 points (32.9 points/game) and finished with a 13-3 won-lost mark, best in the NFC West division. In the divisional round, the Rams beat the Minnesota Vikings, amassing 374 net passing yards thanks to excellent pass protection, despite 2 sacks for 17 yards lost. Gruttadauria with guards Tom Nütten and Adam Timmerman as well as tackles Orlando Pace and Fred Miller continued to protect Warner effectively in the NFC championship game, squeezing past the excellent defense of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 11-6. Though pitted against Warren Sapp and Brad Culpepper at defensive tackle, Gruttadauria and the rest of the line did not allow a sack and gained 258 net passing yards. In Super Bowl XXXIV, the Rams won another squeaker against the Tennessee Titans 23-16, with 407 net passing yards (1 sack for 7 yards lost) and a mere 29 rushing yards. Some of the success of that team was due to the strategy of the center occasionally snapping the ball very quickly back to Warner, catching the opposing defensive line off-guard.[5]
Arizona Cardinalsedit
On February 19, 2000 he signed as a free agent with the Arizona Cardinals.[6] The next year, he was awarded the Ed Block Courage Award. Because of injuries, he played only half the year in 2000 and 2002, his final year in 2001, though he played 15 games. He was released on April 2, 2003.[7]
Referencesedit
^"Gruttadauria thankful for his opportunities". Retrieved February 19, 2017.
^"Orlando Sentinel 25th Anniversary UCF Football Team". Retrieved February 19, 2017.
^"UCF Athletics Hall of Fame Retrospect Series: 2004". Retrieved February 19, 2017.
mike, gruttadauria, michael, jason, gruttadauria, born, december, 1972, former, american, football, center, national, football, league, louis, rams, arizona, cardinals, played, college, football, university, central, florida, 60position, centerpersonal, inform. Michael Jason Gruttadauria born December 6 1972 is a former American football center in the National Football League for the St Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals He played college football at the University of Central Florida Mike GruttadauriaNo 60Position CenterPersonal informationBorn 1972 12 06 December 6 1972 age 51 Fort Lauderdale Florida U S Height 6 ft 3 in 1 91 m Weight 280 lb 127 kg Career informationHigh school Tarpon Springs FL College UCFUndrafted 1995Career historyDallas Cowboys 1995 St Louis Rams 1996 1999 Arizona Cardinals 2000 2002 Offseason and or practice squad member onlyCareer highlights and awardsSuper Bowl champion XXXIV Career NFL statisticsGames played 81Games started 66Player stats at NFL com PFR Contents 1 Early years 2 Professional career 2 1 Dallas Cowboys 2 2 St Louis Rams 2 3 Arizona Cardinals 3 References 4 External linksEarly years editIn his younger years his family moved between Las Vegas South Jersey and Fort Lauderlade He attended Tarpon Springs High School where he began to play organized football He initially accepted a half football scholarship from the University of Central Florida where he became a four year starter and is recognized as the greatest center in school history 1 In 2004 he was named to the Orlando Sentinel s 25th Anniversary University of Central Florida Football Team 2 He also was inducted into UCF Athletics Hall of Fame 3 Professional career editDallas Cowboys edit Gruttadauria was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys in 1995 after not being selected in the NFL Draft because he was considered to be too small to play at the professional level On August 22 he was released along with the entire practice squad when the team signed Deion Sanders and the Cowboys didn t have enough salary cap room to keep the players 4 St Louis Rams edit In 1996 he was signed as a free agent by the St Louis Rams after being out of football for a year and was named the starting center for the last 3 games of the season Though he entered each year with the Rams as the starter injuries and knee surgeries limited his starts He was injured through most of the 1998 season but returned strong in 1999 starting all 16 games for the Super Bowl winning team That year in the playoffs with Kurt Warner at quarterback St Louis led the NFL with 526 points 32 9 points game and finished with a 13 3 won lost mark best in the NFC West division In the divisional round the Rams beat the Minnesota Vikings amassing 374 net passing yards thanks to excellent pass protection despite 2 sacks for 17 yards lost Gruttadauria with guards Tom Nutten and Adam Timmerman as well as tackles Orlando Pace and Fred Miller continued to protect Warner effectively in the NFC championship game squeezing past the excellent defense of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 11 6 Though pitted against Warren Sapp and Brad Culpepper at defensive tackle Gruttadauria and the rest of the line did not allow a sack and gained 258 net passing yards In Super Bowl XXXIV the Rams won another squeaker against the Tennessee Titans 23 16 with 407 net passing yards 1 sack for 7 yards lost and a mere 29 rushing yards Some of the success of that team was due to the strategy of the center occasionally snapping the ball very quickly back to Warner catching the opposing defensive line off guard 5 Arizona Cardinals edit On February 19 2000 he signed as a free agent with the Arizona Cardinals 6 The next year he was awarded the Ed Block Courage Award Because of injuries he played only half the year in 2000 and 2002 his final year in 2001 though he played 15 games He was released on April 2 2003 7 References edit Gruttadauria thankful for his opportunities Retrieved February 19 2017 Orlando Sentinel 25th Anniversary UCF Football Team Retrieved February 19 2017 UCF Athletics Hall of Fame Retrospect Series 2004 Retrieved February 19 2017 Transactions Retrieved February 19 2017 Rams Draw Strength From Ex ucf Player Retrieved February 19 2017 Super Bowl center Gruttadauria signs with Arizona Retrieved February 19 2017 Transactions Retrieved February 19 2017 External links editGruttadauria UCF bio Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mike Gruttadauria amp oldid 1163178174, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
