In the immortal words of Jon Bon Jovi, "Whoa, we're halfway there!"
That's right, we have reached the 50 day mark in our Spotlight Series. Yesterday, we highlighted a force on the offensive line in Grey Ruegamer. Today, we flip back to the defense and honor an equally strong force on defense, Lawrence Guy.
Coming out of Western High School in Las Vegas, Lawrence was one of the most sought after recruits in the 2008 recruiting class. Ranked as the top recruit in the state of Nevada, as well as 161st nationally (13th at defensive tackle) according to Rivals, Lawrence received offers from eight colleges, including major powers such as Michigan, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Lawrence chose Arizona State over all of those schools, giving him the opportunity to play under reigning Pac-10 Coach of the Year Dennis Erickson.
As a true freshman in 2008, Lawrence played in all 12 games, starting the final eight games of the season. He ended the season earning First Team Freshman All-American honors as well as Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 honors, recording 44 tackles (17 solo), 10 tackles for loss and two sacks, adding in one fumble recovery for good measure.
His sophomore season in 2009 yielded similar results, posting 37 tackles (17 solo), seven tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, with one forced fumble while starting all 11 of 12 games. 2010 was nearly a carbon copy, with 41 tackles (14 solo), six tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Following his junior season. Lawrence made the decision to declare for the NFL Draft, a decision that was questioned by some insiders. Despite having talent that should have warranted an earlier selection, he would finally hear his name called in the 7th round (No. 233 overall) by the Green Bay Packers. After bouncing around in his early career from the Packers to the Indianapolis Colts and later to the San Diego Chargers, Lawrence started to make a name for himself with the Baltimore Ravens from 2014-2016, and later with the New England Patriots from 2017-2023.
With his NFL career not yet complete, Guy has proven his doubters wrong by appearing in 181 games (124 starts), amassing 509 tackles (271 solo), 39 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception. His most recent stop in the NFL was last season with the Cincinnati Bengals, and the 35 year old still remains a free agent, hopefully out to show a team that he still has some gas in the tank.
Consistency has always been the name of Lawrence Guy's game, always maintaining the high level of play that came to be expected from him, and for that he is our selection marking the halfway point of our Spotlight Series.