Fitzgerald perfect blueprint for an NFL player
CANTON, OHIO — There is a vast array of personalities when it comes to NFL players.
On the negative side, you have some who will do anything to seek the spotlight even to a detriment to their team, some who have had off-the-field problems, some who have been cancers in the locker room and some who are just plain unfriendly people.
Then there is Larry Fitzgerald.
If you were going to build the perfect NFL player, there is your blueprint.
Fitzgerald was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday in Canton, Ohio, along with Drew Brees, Roger Craig, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri. He and Brees both made it, deservedly so, on the first ballot.
Fitzgerald’s resume is almost impeccable. He ended his NFL career second all-time among wide receivers in receptions (1,432) and receiving yards (17,492) to Jerry Rice.
The 11-time Pro-Bowler had a postseason for the ages when he led the Arizona Cardinals — with whom he spent each 17 of his years — to Super Bowl XLIII with 546 yards and seven touchdowns in the 2008 season, both records.
Steelers fans surely remember his 64-yard touchdown catch from Kurt Warner in the Super Bowl which gave Arizona a 23-20 lead with 2:37 left in the game.
I remember thinking as Fitzgerald streaked down the middle of the field, “Well, if the Steelers are going to lose the Super Bowl, at least it’s to a former Pitt player and a good guy like Fitzgerald.”
Ben Roethlisberger had other ideas, though, with his clutch, late drive and TD pass to Santonio Holmes to secure Pittsburgh’s sixth Lombardi Trophy. I still recall Fitzgerald mouthing a “Wow” when watching a replay Holmes’ amazing grab in the corner of the end zone.
Most fans forget Fitzgerald’s role in James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return just before halftime. The intended receiver on the play, Fitzgerald tracked Harrison the entire way, bumping into teammates along the sidelines, never giving up on the play, and caught and brought down Harrison close enough to the goal line where the play had to be reviewed.
The touchdown was upheld and went down as one of the great plays in Super Bowl history despite Fitzgerald’s determined effort.
Fitzgerald would never get to another Super Bowl, through no fault of his own.
He was regarded as a class player throughout his career at Pitt and in the NFL, never trying to show up an opponent, always supporting his teammates and always looking to simply hand or toss the football to an official after a catch.
Some forget what an impact he had at Pitt under coach Walt Harris.
The former Pitt superstar finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting as a sophomore in 2003 to Oklahoma quarterback Jason White before entering the NFL Draft and was regarded as one of best wide receivers in the nation during his two collegiate seasons while catching passes from Tyler Palko and Rod Rutherford.
He did beat out White to take home the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award (voted on by a panel of NCAA coaches) and also won the Biletnikoff Award (most outstanding receiver) in 2003.
Fitzgerald snagged 92 passes for 1,672 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior despite constantly facing double teams and finished his Panthers’ career with 161 receptions for 2,677 yards and a school-record 34 TDs.
Fitzgerald also set the NCAA record by pulling in a touchdown pass in 18 consecutive games, a mark that still stands.
Perhaps his greatest catch came at Texas A&M during a Pitt win in the 2003 season, a 49-yard touchdown in which he beat three defenders and made a spectacular over-the-shoulder grab on a slightly underthrown ball.
That catch prompted this from announcer Brent Musberger:
“The man is remarkable. It has been a long time since I have seen a college receiver who can make the catch in the air like Larry Fitzgerald has.”
Fitzgerald was already in the Pitt Hall of Fame with his number retired before reaching Canton.
Known for having some of the best hands in NFL history — he incredibly had more tackles (39) than dropped passes (29) — Fitzgerald put that on display in an episode of Sports Science in 2009 when he hung upside down and still managed to snag 10 of 10 passes despite the awkward position.
He also showed his explosiveness during the show by exploding off the line of scrimmage in 0.16 seconds, twice as fast as the average speed of all other NFL stars tested.
Fitzgerald has been lauded for his humanitarian efforts off the field. He started the Larry Fitzgerald Foundation, which focuses on youth education and breast cancer awareness, won the Heisman Humanitarian Award in 2025 for profound impact through community service and philanthropy, and was presented with the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2016. He also hosts free instructional camps.
As for his acceptance speech, Fitzgerald, presented by his son Devin Fitzgerald, who is currently a wide receiver at Notre Dame, pointed out he was a Minnesota native who became a ball boy for the Vikings, then coached by Dennis Green, and talked about how he idolized wide receiver greats Randy Moss and Cris Carter who played on that team.
Coming out of Pitt, he was drafted by the Cardinals, then coached by Green, with the third overall pick in the 2004 draft.
Fitzgerald credited Pitt, saying, “It gave me two of the best years of my entire life.”
Current Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was there to support the former Panther, and another former Pitt player, Louis Riddick was in attendance working for ESPN.
Here are a few other highlights from Fitzgerald speech:
— “Surround yourself with people who tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. Those are the people who actually love you.”
— “Don’t just pursue excellence for yourself, help others pursue it, too.”
— “That’s the part of this story that matters the most, not the likes, it’s not the follows, it’s not the fame but the people you travel with, the values you uphold, and, in the end, it’s not just about excellence, it’s about the people who you help get there.”
Wise advice from one of the classiest people to ever play in the NFL.
Rob Burchianti is sports editor of the Herald-Standard and can be reached at rburchianti@hotmail.com