Jason Spitz life and biography

Jason Spitz is an American football center/guard for the Green Bay Packers of the NFL.

• Had missed just four games in his first three seasons before a back injury limited him to only five games and four starts in 2009.
• Of 45 career starts, 29 have come at right guard, eight at left guard and eight at center.
• Was one of only two players on offense along with Daryn Colledge to take every snap in 2008, and also joined Colledge as the only linemen to start at three different spots on the season.
• Overcame knee injury as redshirt freshman at Louisville and started final 38 games of college career, earning postseason honors in final three seasons.
• Won a state championship as a competitive weightlifter at The Bolles High School in Jacksonville, Fla.
• At Bolles, football coach was Corky Rodgers, who also coached former Packers’ running back and current RB coach Edgar Bennett at Robert E. Lee High, also in Jacksonville, Fla.

PRO CAREER:
Enters his fifth season as a consistent, versatile performer on the offensive line, but looking to bounce back from an ’09 season cut short by a back injury... Is expected to compete for starting jobs at left guard or center in 2010... After winning the starting spot at center in training camp last season, played in just five games with four starts before a back injury requiring surgery sent him to injured reserve... Had missed only four games in his first three seasons with the club, playing all three spots along the interior of the offensive line... Of his 45 career starts, he has opened 29 games at right guard, eight at left guard and eight at center... Battled minor injuries his first two seasons before starting every game in 2008, joining linemate Daryn Colledge as the only players on offense to take every snap and the only linemen to start at three different positions that season... Known for his toughness and a nasty streak that belies his good nature and sense of humor often on display off the field... Named a starter prior to his first NFL training camp after being the second of the Packers’ two selections in third round (75th overall) in 2006... A four-year starter at Louisville, started the final 38 games of his college career at guard and earned postseason honors his final three seasons... Because of size and body frame, was thought by some scouts to be a better prospect at center in the NFL... As a senior, played at Louisville when two 2008 Green Bay draft picks were sophomores, quarterback Brian Brohm (second round) and fellow offensive lineman Breno Giacomini (fifth round).

2009 SEASON: Started four of five games played, opening two at C and two at LG...Won starting C position in training camp over incumbent Scott Wells...Inactive vs. Detroit (Oct. 18) and vs. Minnesota (Nov. 1) due to back injury, before being placed on injured reserve Nov. 7...Had surgery on Nov. 11... Vs. Chicago (Sept. 13): Started at C... Vs. Cincinnati (Sept. 20): Started at C, but moved over to LG in place of Colledge on the Packers’ first possession of the third quarter. Colledge assumed LT Chad Clifton’s spot after Clifton left the game with an ankle injury and did not return... At St. Louis (Sept. 27): Started at LG as part of a re-shuffled line with Clifton out. Blocked for RB Ryan Grant’s 99 yards on 26 carries, including 50 yards in the fourth quarter. Part of line that did not allow a sack of QB Aaron Rodgers in the final three quarters... At Minnesota (Oct. 5): Started at LG... Vs. Detroit (Oct. 18): Inactive due to back injury sustained in Oct. 15 practice, the first game he missed due to injury since Week 3 of his rookie campaign (at Detroit, Sept. 24, 2006)...At Cleveland (Oct. 25): Active, but only saw time on PATs after being limited during the week with back injury.

2008: Started all 16 games for the first time in his career, opening up at RG for 11, C for three and LG for two... Was one of only two players, along with Colledge, to start at three different spots on the offensive line... Blocked for Grant’s (then) career-high 1,203 rushing yards, which ranks as the eighth-highest single-season rushing mark in franchise history... Vs. Minnesota (Sept. 8): Started first of three straight games at C with Wells sidelined with a trunk injury, and provided key block of LB E.J. Henderson on Grant’s 57-yard run in the fourth quarter... At Tampa Bay (Sept. 28): Returned to RG spot with Wells back in the starting lineup... At Tennessee (Nov. 2): Shifted over to start at LG with Colledge moving to LT in place of Clifton (illness)... Vs. Chicago (Nov. 16): Part of line that paved the way for team’s 200 rushing yards, including season-best 145 from Grant. Line did not allow a sack or pressure of Rodgers all afternoon... Vs. Detroit (Dec. 30): Started at LG as Colledge shifted over to RT and Josh Sitton opened at RG. Shifted to C in second quarter when Wells left with an ankle injury, and remained there for the rest of the game. Blocked for Packers’ season-high 211 rushing yards, including 106 each from Grant and DeShawn Wynn, only the second time since 1985 that a Packers tandem each posted 100-plus yards in the same game.

2007: Played in 14 of 16 regular-season games with 12 starts: seven at RG, three at C and two at LG... Started both playoff games at RG... Active, but did not play, vs. San Diego (Sept. 23) and at Minnesota (Sept. 30)... Suffered a calf injury in the third preseason game and missed the finale, returning to practice for Week 1... Vs. Philadelphia (Sept. 9): Started season opener at RG, but aggravated calf injury late in the third quarter and did not return... Vs. Chicago (Oct. 7): Took over for Wells at C late in the third quarter when Wells left the game after being poked in the eye (injury later diagnosed as a broken bone in his eye socket)... Vs. Washington (Oct. 14): Made his first career start at C, and became the eighth C to start during Brett Favre’s consecutive games-played streak... Vs. Minnesota (Nov. 11): Started at RG, and helped the Packers amass a season-high 488 yards... At Dallas (Nov. 29): Started at RG, but took over Colledge’s LG spot in the second quarter (coach’s decision), with Junius Coston filling in at RG... Vs. Detroit (Dec. 30): Returned to starting RG spot and helped the team rush for season-high 217 yards... Vs. Seattle (NFC Divisional, Jan. 12): Started at RG and was part of a line that assisted Grant to 201 yards and three TDs, both club playoff records.

COLLEGE:
A four-year starter at Louisville, started the final 38 games of his college career at G and earned all-conference honors his final three seasons... Earned a B.S. degree in marketing... Senior season (2005): Earned first-team All-Big East Conference honors as a senior, starting all 12 games at LG... Helped Cardinals rank ninth in nation in total offense (482 yards per game), third in scoring (43.2 points per game), and third in pass-efficiency rating (159.85)... Allowed only two sacks on the season... Junior season (2004): Experimented at C during fall camp, but started all 12 games at RG and was named second-team All-Conference USA for the second time... Part of an offense that led Division I-A in total offense (539.0 ypg), scoring (49.75 ppg) and pass-efficiency rating (174.36)... Allowed only 2½ sacks on the season... Sophomore season (2003): Started all 13 games at RG and was named second-team All-Conference USA... Part of an offensive line that allowed only 13 sacks for the season... Helped Cardinals rank in the top 10 nationally in rushing with 2,966 yards, a school record... Redshirt freshman season (2002): Cracked starting lineup at RG in second game, at Duke (Sept. 7)... Started five straight games before suffering torn MCL in left knee... Missed five games but returned to starting lineup vs. Marshall (Dec. 18) in GMAC Bowl.

PERSONAL:
Born Jason Russell Spitz in Boardman, Ohio. Father, Russell, played nose guard at Yale... High school: At The Bolles High School in Jacksonville, Fla., was a first-team All-First Coast selection as a two-way lineman... As a senior, finished with 10 sacks and 56 total tackles to earn second-team all-state honors from the Florida Times-Union... Coach at Bolles was Corky Rodgers, who also coached former Packers RB and current RB coach Edgar Bennett at Robert E. Lee High in Jacksonville... Began prep career at Wolfson High School in Jacksonville... Also lettered in track and field as a shot put and discus thrower and competed in organized weightlifting, winning a state championship as a senior with a bench press of 425 pounds and a clean-and-jerk of 335 pounds... Community involvement: Has participated in numerous community events during his time in Green Bay, including activities to benefit the March of Dimes, Muscular Dystrophy Association and Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin... Also has played games and eaten dinner with patients at the local Families of Children with Cancer holiday party, rung bells for the Salvation Army during Red Kettle campaign over the holidays, served hot lunch to students at De Pere (Wis.) Middle School who donated food as part of the Packers Women’s Association food drive, and helped refurbish the Green Bay West H.S. football field as part of the Home Depot Neighborhood MVP Program... Attended a pep rally at Our Lady of Lourdes school in De Pere, Wis., after the school won a makeover of its equipment room and brand new sports equipment... Has taken part in Edgar Bennett’s Celebrity Bowl-A-Thon to benefit the Angel Fund, the Brett Favre Celebrity Softball Game, the Al Harris Stars and Strikes Celebrity Bowling Event, a dinner to benefit the Donald Driver Foundation, the Packers Tailgate Tours and the TRIFECTA golf tournament put on by former teammate Mark Tauscher... Spread woodchips around new playground equipment and played with Beaumont Elementary School students at the NFL’s annual Hometown Huddle event.

As Hobbies/interests: Likes to read and is close to finishing a second college major in finance... Also enjoys cooking and says bananas foster is his best dish... Took an adventurous trip to China and Thailand with buddy Colledge this past offseason.

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