Players

Antonio Garay was one of the NFL’s most inspiring stories of 2010. Four years removed from a potentially careerending broken right leg and shattered ankle as result of a horrific chop block that took nearly two years to heal, Garay became a starter for the first time in his career and had a breakthrough season.

Selected as a third-alternate to the AFC Pro Bowl squad, Garay had 5.5 sacks, tied for second among all NFL defensive tackles, and he led the Chargers’ defensive line and set new career highs in tackles, sacks, tackles for loss and quarterback hits. Garay played in every game, starting all but one, and was a key reason the Chargers led the NFL in total defense and ranked fourth against the run.

One play in particular stuck out during Garay’s stellar ’10 season. During the Chargers’ Nov. 28 nationally-televised game in Indianapolis on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, Garay put guard Jeff Linkenbach on his heels and drove him backward into quarterback Peyton Manning. The play forced Manning to the ground, and even though Garay wasn’t credited with a sack, it was one of the most impressive plays of the NFL season and was shown on a number of highlight shows around the country.

After Garay’s injury in 2007, his path back to the NFL was anything but easy. To help, his agent posted some of Garay’s workout videos on YouTube and he even scheduled a workout where Garay ran with a bunch of teenagers. But the sacrifices were worthwhile, especially when the New York Jets signed him to their practice squad in Oct. 2009, and just seven weeks later the Chargers signed him to their active roster. One of the main reasons the Chargers opted to sign Garay was his familiarity with defensive line coach Don Johnson, who was Garay’s position coach in Chicago when he suffered the horrific injury.

A native of Rahway, N.J., Garay is a second-generation freestyle wrestler. His family sports the most wrestling medalists in N.J. history. Garay’s uncle, Louie Garay, won the New Jersey state championship in 1955. Another uncle, Carlos Garay, finished second in ’57. Antonio’s dad, Tony, finished third in ’66. His brother, Dan, also owns a state title. But Antonio may have been the best of them all. A state champion as well in his weight class (275 lbs.), Garay was undefeated as a high school senior. Wrestling and football, where he was a high school All-American, led Garay to Boston College. He excelled in both sports until BC dropped wrestling prior to his senior year. Garay had finished fourth in the NCAA Championships as a sophomore and is the only wrestling All-American in Boston College history. In 2009, the school inducted Garay into its Athletics Hall of Fame. Garay concluded his collegiate athletic career on the gridiron, and despite suffering severe injuries in both his junior and senior seasons, the Cleveland Browns drafted him in the sixth round in 2003.

Garay comes from a diverse family. His mother, Marsha, is Jewish and his father is Catholic and a combination of Puerto Rican, Costa Rican and Jamaican. Both of Garay’s parents were two-sport athletes at Hofstra University, where they met. His mom was a softball pitcher and captain of the tennis team and his dad wrestled and played football. One of the most highly-touted defensive linemen in the country in 1971, Garay’s father spent time in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots and New York Jets. Garay’s mother has instilled Jewish heritage in Antonio and his siblings, and as such, one of his ambitions is to visit Israel and wrestle in the Maccabi Games, an international Jewish athletic event similar to the Olympics that is held in Israel every four years under the auspices of the Maccabi Federation. He also has been mentioned as a candidate to one day represent the United States in wrestling at the Summer Olympics. This June, Garay was invited to teach a clinic at the New
Jersey All-State Wrestling Camp.

Garay is working toward starting the “Set the Tone” foundation, whose mission will be to help kids in the community prepare for college. Garay earned bachelor’s degrees in both English and marketing, and a master’s degree in secondary education with a focus on English from Boston College.

TRANSACTION HISTORY: Sixth-round pick (195) by CLE, April 27, 2003...signed with Browns, Aug. 2...waived Dec. 13, 2004...signed with CHI, Aug. 15, 2005...waived Aug. 30... signed to Bears’ practice squad, Sept. 5...re-signed with CHI, Jan. 16, 2006...released, Sept. 1, 2007...signed to Bears’ PS, Sept. 3 and active roster, Sept. 11...released Feb. 28, 2008... signed to NYJ PS, Oct. 20, 2009... signed with Chargers Dec. 9...re-signed two-year contract, March 5, 2010.

2010: Pro Bowl third-alternate...Chargers’ co-Lineman of
Year...season-high three tackles for loss Nov. 7 at HOU...stopped late drive in Texans game with tackle for no gain on 4th-and- 2...team-high three quarterback hits Nov. 28 at Indianapolis.

2009: Began season on NYJ practice squad...crushing STT in Jan. 3 season-finale vs. WAS...four TTs in Wild Card Playoffs vs. Jets.

2008: Missed season while recovering from broken leg.

2007: Broken leg and shattered ankle Dec. 6 vs. WAS as result of illegal chop block by tackle Chris Samuels...placed on “Reserve-Injured” Dec. 10.

COLLEGE: Co-captain as senior...finished career with 162 TT, 12 sacks and 24 TFLs...suffered season-ending ACL sprain on first play of first game of junior season and season-ending spine injury vs. Notre Dame as senior...redshirted in 1998... played at Boston College from 1998-02...marketing major.

PERSONAL: Born in New York City...Prep Star All-America and all-state at Rahway (N.J.) HS.