Ryan Thelwell

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Template:Redirect category shell Ryan Thelwell (born April 6, 1973) is a Jamaican-Canadian former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected ninth overall by the BC Lions in the 1998 CFL draft and 215th overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1998 NFL draft.[1] Thelwell played college football with the University of Minnesota.

Early life and college

Thelwell was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica and grew up in London, Ontario, Canada.[2][dead link][3][dead link] He graduated from London Catholic Central High School in 1993 and played on the football, volleyball, basketball, and track teams.[3] Thelwell attended the University of Minnesota. After redshirting a year, Thelwell played wide receiver on the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team from 1994 to 1997 seasons. In 7 games in his freshman season (1994), Thelwell caught 24 passes (including 3 touchdowns) for 406 yards and had a long reception of 80. In 1995, Thelwell caught 58 passes for 775 yards and 6 touchdowns. In 1996, Thelwell made 54 catches for 1,051 yards and 5 touchdowns.[4] He was a second-team All-Big Ten Conference media selection and honorable mention all-Big Ten coaches' selection.

Professional career

National Football League

Thelwell was drafted 215th overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 1998 NFL draft, but failed to stick with the team following training camp.[5] He then signed with the San Diego Chargers and played in six games, starting three. He caught his first pass of the season against the Baltimore Ravens on November 15, 1998, and scored his first and only touchdown of the season on December 27 in the season finale against the Arizona Cardinals.[6] Thelwell caught a crucial, 30-yard touchdown pass on 4th-and-20 with 16 seconds left that would tie the game at 13 after the extra point. However, San Diego would lose 16–13.[7] Only Thelwell caught more passes than Arizona linebacker Kwamie Lassiter intercepted passes from San Diego quarterback Craig Whelihan.[8] One of Lassiter's interceptions bounced off Thelwell's hands.[9] For the 1998 season with San Diego, Thelwell caught 16 passes for 268 yards.[6] He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers the following season.

Canadian Football League

Having been drafted 9th overall by the BC Lions, Thelwell signed with the defending Grey Cup champions on June 6, 2001.[10] Thelwell would go on to play the next six seasons with the Lions, accumulating 335 receptions for 4981 yards and 30 touchdowns. He was named a West Division All-Star in 2004 and 2005, while recording his first 1000-yard season in 2005. He saw a drop-off in production in 2006 with 625 receiving yards, he was a key contributor in the playoffs, recording nine catches for 83 yards, leading to a Lions' win in the 94th Grey Cup.

Following his Grey Cup win, Thelwell became a free agent and elected to sign with the Calgary Stampeders on February 16, 2007. Over four seasons in Calgary, he caught 106 passes for 1747 yards and nine touchdowns. He played in the Stampeders 96th Grey Cup victory over the Montreal Alouettes, the same team that lost to the Lions in 2006. On January 25, 2011, Thelwell announced his retirement from professional football.[11][12]

Due to an injury sustained by Akeem Foster, the Lions brought Thelwell out of retirement and signed him on October 25, 2011.[13] Thelwell was on the 46-man roster when the team won the 99th Grey Cup, earning him his third Grey Cup championship in six seasons. Almost immediately after the win, Thelwell again announced his retirement on December 1, 2011.[14]

Personal life

Thelwell moved to London, Ontario with his parents when he was four years old.

Thelwell also made an appearance at the William Aberhart Trojans 2007 football banquet in Calgary on November 16, 2007. Thelwell was inducted into the City of London Sports Hall of Fame in November 2015.

He is married with four kids.

References

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  1. ^ 1998 NFL Draft on databaseFootball.com
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Beamish, Mike (January 11, 2007). "Thelwell among big-name CFL free agents". Canwest News Service. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
  3. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Reed, Jeffrey (February 1, 2011). "London's Ryan Thelwell retires from the CFL". The Londoner. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ryan Thelwell". University of Minnesota. Archived from the original on June 10, 1997.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."1998 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ryan Thelwell game logs, 1998". NFL. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Cardinals 16, Chargers 13". Associated Press. December 27, 1998. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Simers, T.J. (December 28, 1998). "Officials and Jacke Help Raise Arizona". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Walsh, Chris (December 28, 1998). "Wild Cards". Tucson Citizen. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  10. ^ 2009 Canadian Football League Facts, Figures & Records, Canadian Football League Properties/Publications, Toronto, Ontario, Template:ISBN, p.175
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."CFL.ca - Official Site of the Canadian Football League". Archived from the original on April 24, 2011.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Stampeders WR Thelwell announces retirement". www.tsn.ca. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."B.C. Lions". www.bclions.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."B.C. Lions". www.bclions.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2012.

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