Dwight Freeney

In 15-seasons in the NFL, Dwight Freeney has left a memorable impression.

Freeney, who was born in Hartford and played high school football at Bloomfield, is a seven-time Pro Bowler, a three-time First Team All-Pro selection and a Super Bowl champion.

After finishing his senior season at Syracuse, Freeney was selected with the 11th pick in the 2002 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. He spent the next 11 seasons with the Colts, playing in 163 games. Freeney was the NFL sacks leader in 2004 with 16 and was the AFC defensive player of the year in 2005. From 2002 to 2012, Freeney had 107.5 sacks with Indianapolis. Freeney helped lead the Colts to their first Super Bowl title in Indianapolis, recovering a fumble in the championship victory over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI. After leaving the Colts in 2012, Freeney has played for the San Diego Chargers, Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons. He has played in 13 games for the Falcons this season and has three sacks.

In his 15 year career in the NFL, Freeney has played in 207 games and started in 157. He has 122.5 sacks, 328 tackles and has forced 47 fumbles.

Before the NFL, Freeney was a unanimous All-American at Syracuse in 2001 and a two-time first team All-Big East selection. He was a two-year starter for the Orangeman and set a school record with 17.5 sacks in his senior season. His 34 career sacks rank second in school history to Tim Green (45.5). Freeney once had a run of 17 straight games with one sack or more. He finished his college career with 104 tackles.

At Bloomfield, Freeney played a year of soccer, but switched to football his sophomore year. He helped lead Bloomfield to a state championship his final season and finished his senior year as the state leader in career sacks with 60 (the record has since been broken). Freeney also played baseball and basketball at the school.