O. J. McDuffie
 McDuffie in 2008 | |||||||||||
| No. 81 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | December 2, 1969 Marion, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Hawken School (Gates Mills, Ohio) | ||||||||||
| College: | Penn State | ||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1993 / Round: 1 / Pick: 25 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||||
Otis James McDuffie (born December 2, 1969) is an American former professional
1993 NFL Draft
, McDuffie played professionally for the Dolphins.
Early years
McDuffie was born in
His number 32 is retired at Hawken School and The News-Herald named McDuffie the number 3 player of the 20th century in Northeast Ohio.[2] Memorabilia from McDuffie's days playing Marion Midget Football are featured in an exhibit entitled "A Passion to Play" at the Marion County Historical Society.[3]
College career
McDuffie attended Pennsylvania State University, and played for coach
Nittany Lions. He set several single-season and career receiving records, as well as all-purpose yards records. His performance in Penn State's 1992 Fiesta Bowl victory over Tennessee
on January 1, 1992, garnered him the game's offensive MVP.
McDuffie also played one season of varsity
1991 Major League Baseball Draft
but did not sign.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in labor and industrial relations from Penn State in 1992.
Professional career
The Miami Dolphins selected McDuffie in the first round (25th pick overall) of the
returned punts and was a reserve wide receiver before earning the starting spot for the Dolphins. During his formative years with the Dolphins, McDuffie became known as Dan Marino's favorite receiver. His 415 career catches are fourth all-time in Dolphins history. In 1998, McDuffie caught 90 passes, leading the NFL in that category. He was the first Dolphin to achieve this mark (since achieved by Jarvis Landry in 2017). That same year, McDuffie became the first player in NFL history to record at least 90 receptions and 10 punt returns in a season without a fumble. Antonio Brown of Pittsburgh in 2016 is the only player to do it since. With the exception of Mark Clayton and Mark Duper
, McDuffie caught more passes thrown by Marino than any other Dolphin receiver. He played his entire career in Miami, retiring in 2000 because of a nagging toe injury.
Nearly ten years later, McDuffie would win a
tendons in his toe.[7] On September 30, 2010, Judge Michael Genden of Miami-Dade County tossed out that verdict due to the improper use of a medical manual as evidence. The judge also ordered a new trial. A second trial resulted in a verdict for Dr. Uribe.[8] On appeal by McDuffie, the Third District Court affirmed the judgment for Dr. Uribe.[9]
NFL career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | Receiving | Punt return | Kick return | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FD | Ret | Yds | Lng | TD | FC | Ret | Yds | Lng | TD | FC | Fum | Lost | |||
| 1993 | MIA | 16 | 19 | 197 | 10.4 | 18 | 0 | 16 | 28 | 317 | 72 | 2 | 22 | 32 | 755 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | MIA | 15 | 37 | 488 | 13.2 | 30 | 3 | 28 | 32 | 228 | 26 | 0 | 15 | 36 | 767 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | MIA | 16 | 62 | 819 | 13.2 | 48 | 8 | 50 | 24 | 163 | 24 | 0 | 12 | 23 | 564 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1996 | MIA | 16 | 74 | 918 | 12.4 | 36 | 8 | 50 | 22 | 212 | 19 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 1997 | MIA | 16 | 76 | 943 | 12.4 | 55 | 1 | 50 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | MIA | 16 | 90 | 1,050 | 11.7 | 61 | 7 | 59 | 12 | 141 | 39 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | MIA | 12 | 43 | 516 | 12.0 | 34 | 2 | 30 | 7 | 62 | 21 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2000 | MIA | 9 | 14 | 143 | 10.2 | 24 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career[10] | 116 | 415 | 5,074 | 12.2 | 61 | 29 | 292 | 127 | 1,127 | 72 | 2 | 91 | 92 | 2,103 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | |
Life after football
McDuffie hosts a weekly podcast, The Fish Tank: Dolphins Tales From The Deep, as part of the Miami Dolphins Podcast Network.
McDuffie was formerly a
South Florida metropolitan area.[11]
He was inducted into the Dolphins Walk of Fame on December 29, 2013.[12]
In 2015, he was inducted into the Hawken School Athletic Hall of Fame.
References
- ^ Kyre, Brenda (November 24, 2008). "State Records, Football". The Ohio High School Athletic Association. Retrieved November 30, 2008.
- ^ a b News-herald.com Archived September 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Steven, James (November 30, 2008). "A Passion to Play". The Marion Star. Retrieved November 30, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ 2013 Penn State Baseball Yearbook
- ^ "1993 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ^ "McDuffie awarded $11.5M in toe lawsuit". Associated Press. May 5, 2010.
- ^ The Miami Herald.
- ^ McDuffie v. Uribe, 45 Fla. L. Weekly D757, 758 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019)
- ^ Id.
- ^ "O.J. McDuffie Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
- ^ "About Catch 81". Catch 81 Foundation. Archived from the original on May 7, 2010. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
- ^ "Dolphins Add Four To Walk Of Fame". dolphins.com. December 10, 2013. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
External links
- "About O.J. McDuffie", on SportsTalk 790
- "McDuffie Biography", OPENSports.com
- McDuffie's McBlog, OPEN Sports Network
- Catch 81 Foundation
- O.J. McDuffie: My Five Most Memorable Games Archived July 8, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, The Finsiders, July 6, 2013