Nick Sorensen

Nick Sorensen

Sorensen (#27) chases after Mark Bradley
No. 27     Cleveland Browns
Safety
Personal information
Date of birth: July 31, 1978 (1978-07-31) (age 33)
Place of birth: Winter Haven, Florida
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
College: Virginia Tech
Undrafted in 2001
Debuted in 2001 for the St. Louis Rams
Career history
Miami Dolphins (2001)* St. Louis Rams (2001–2002) Jacksonville Jaguars (2003–2006) Cleveland Browns (2007-present) *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
No notable achievements
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2010
Tackles	129
Sacks	0.5
Interceptions	0
Pass Deflections	2
Stats at NFL.com

Nick Sorensen (born July 31, 1978 in Winter Haven, Florida) is an American football safety for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played college football at Virginia Tech.

High school years

Sorensen lived in Vienna, Virginia and attended George C. Marshall High School. Lettered three seasons, each, in football, basketball and baseball. Threw for 1,925 yards and 23 TDs during his football career and rushed for 604 yards and 10 TDs. Was inducted into the George C. Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame, which includes other NFL players Keith Lyle and Mike McCrary.

College career

Sorensen was a four-year letterman for the Virginia Tech Hokies and started at safety and linebacker during his final two seasons where he posted 117 tackles, ten tackles for losses, four sacks and an interception. He began his college career as a quarterback, and completed 42 of 80 passes for 446 yards with four touchdowns and nine interceptions. At 19 years, 3 months of age, Sorensen made a mid-season start replacing the injured Al Clark against UAB going making 11 of 21 passes including a 22-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Gildersleeve. Sorensen was named Virginia Tech's Player of the Game in the 1998 Gator Bowl loss to North Carolina.^[1] In 1999, Sorensen moved from quarterback to defense, turning over the quarterback duties to the team's talented freshman, Michael Vick. That year Vick took the Hokies to a national championship game and a No. 2 national ranking. Sorensen finished fourth on the team with 70 tackles, one less than future Brown Ben Taylor. He graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in marketing.

Professional career

Sorensen was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted rookie free agent on April 27, 2001 but was waived before the season started. He joined the St. Louis Rams, also in 2001, where he played for two seasons—including the Rams' appearance in Super Bowl XXXVI.

Following that Super Bowl season, the Rams cut Sorensen, who was then picked up by the Jacksonville Jaguars. In Jacksonville, Sorensen played four seasons in the defensive backfield and as a standout on special teams. All four years he was the special teams captain. In 2006, Sorensen suffered a significant injury, and the Jaguars cut him prior to the start of the 2007 season.^[2]

On October 24, 2007 he signed with the Cleveland Browns, and on February 29, 2008, the first day of free agency, he re-signed with the Browns.

On October 26, 2008, Sorensen returned to Jacksonville for the first time after being cut by Coach Jack Del Rio in August 2007. Sorensen broke up the final play of the game (a pass from Garrard to Jones) with 13 seconds left in the game. The Browns won the game 23-17 thanks to Sorensen's effort.

As of the end of the 2009 season, Sorensen has not missed any of the 41 games since joining the Browns, but has also not made a start. Going into the 2010 season, Sorensen was scheduled to earn $774,340 and was third on the Brown's depth chart behind rookies T.J. Ward and Larry Asante. The presence of the newly-drafted rookies meant that Sorensen faced being cut after training camp. He was not in fact cut and went on to have a great season on the special teams squad.

On August 28, 2010 he was carted off the field with a possible neck injury during an exhibition game versus the Detroit Lions.

Family

On Feb. 27, 2010, Sorensen wed [1] Danielle Berry before 120 guests at St. Aloysius Church in the District of Columbia. His brother Derek was his best man.

Sorensen's cousin, James Augustine,^[3] played forward/center in the National Basketball Association. Sorensen's father, Dick, played football for the University of Miami Hurricanes from 1965-1969. Sorensen and his brother, Derek, are charter members of the Old Courthouse Club, a small social club with limited membership in the Vienna, Virginia area.

References

1. ^ 1998 Gator Bowl Virginia Tech Athletics department, Hokiesports.com, Accessed May 8, 2008.
2. ^ Seely, Fred (2007-08-28). "Veteran Sorensen released by team". Orlando Sentinel. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/football/orl-jagsbeat2807aug28,0,6227296.story. Retrieved 2007-08-28. 
3. ^ Player Bio: James Augustine :: Men's Basketball

External links

• Cleveland Browns Player Bio
• [2]
• Wedding of Nick Sorensen and Danielle Berry in The Washington Post
• Cantonrep.com