Andrew Steven Levitre ( ; born May 15, 1986) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

. He was drafted by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

in the second round, 51st overall in the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

, and has also played for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for c ...

Early years

Levitre played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

San Lorenzo Valley High School Felton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 4,489 as of 2020 census and according to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land. History Named ...

Felton, California Felton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 4,489 as of 2020 census and according to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land. History Named ...

, where he was a two-way lineman. In his

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

season, he recorded 47 tackles, two

quarterback sacks In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the ...

and two fumble recoveries. He added more than 60 tackles and three sacks in his senior year. Considered only a two-star recruit by both ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

'' and ''

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

'', Levitre was not ranked among the nation's top offensive line prospects in 2004. He chose Oregon State over

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

, and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, where his older brother, Erick, played

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

(2002–2006).

College career

Levitre

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2004, and played in all 11 games as a redshirt-freshman in 2005, while starting against

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. In his sophomore season, he started in game four of the season after senior starter Josh Linehan injured a knee in game three against

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. Levitre earned Pac-10 Honorable Mention as a player and academically. During his junior year, Levitre started every game at either right or left tackle, and earned Pac-10 Conference second-team honors as selected by the coaches. For his senior season he was named to the 2008

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Am ...

watch list, and started all 13 games at left tackle. He registered a career-high 91 knockdowns and 14 touchdown-resulting blocks and was earned All-American status by the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

and ''

Pro Football Weekly ''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinoi ...

''. He was considered the most-decorated Beaver offensive lineman since

John Didion John Lawrence Didion (October 24, 1947 – December 10, 2013) was an American football player, a Center in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints from 1969 to 1974. Early years Born and raised in W ...

, a consensus All-America choice in the late 1960s.

Professional career

2009 NFL Draft

Alongside

Duke Robinson George "Duke" Robinson (born October 10, 1986) is a former American football guard. Robinson played college football for the University of Oklahoma, and was recognized as an All-American twice. He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the ...

and

T. J. Lang Thomas John "T. J." Lang (born September 20, 1987) is a former American football guard. He played college football at Eastern Michigan and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Lang was a member of the ...

, Levitre was considered one of the best guards available in the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

. He has been compared to

Todd Herremans Todd Herremans (born October 13, 1982) is a former American football offensive guard who played 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Herremans was selected in the fourth round (126th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia ...

by ''The Sporting News'', and to Josh Beekman by ''CBS Sports''.

Buffalo Bills (2009–2012)

Levitre was selected by the

with the 51st pick overall in the second round of the

, and was the first college guard drafted. He is the sixth selection from Oregon State in Bills history, the first since Keith Ellison in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. Counted on to start at left guard, Levitre joined a completely retooled offensive line that was expected to feature two rookie starters—him, and first round pick

Eric Wood Eric Wood (born March 18, 1986) is a former American football center. He played college football at the University of Louisville and was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft (28th overall) by the Buffalo Bills of the National Foot ...

at right guard—and no players returning at the same position. He started all 16 games in 2009. On January 15, 2010, Levitre was named to the 2009 NFL All-Rookie team along with teammate

Jairus Byrd Jairus Keelon Byrd (born October 7, 1986) is a former American football free safety. He played college football for the University of Oregon. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He is a three-time Pro Bo ...

Tennessee Titans (2013–2015)

On March 12, 2013, Levitre reached a six-year $46.8 million deal with the

. Levitre underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in January 2013 and still felt knee soreness just days after signing for the team.

Atlanta Falcons (2015–2018)

On September 4, 2015, the Titans traded Levitre to the

for a 2016 sixth round draft pick. In the 2016 season, Levitre and the Falcons reached

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New ...

, where they faced the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

on February 5, 2017. In the Super Bowl, the Falcons fell in a 34–28 overtime defeat. In 2017, Levitre started the first 12 games of the season at left guard before suffering a triceps injury. He missed the next three games before returning in Week 17 against the Carolina Panthers, where he aggravated the injury. He was placed on injured reserve on January 2, 2018. On September 18, 2018, Levitre was placed on injured reserve after suffering a torn triceps. On May 14, 2019, Levitre announced his retirement from the NFL after 10 seasons.

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levitre, Andy 1986 births Living people American football offensive guards Atlanta Falcons players Buffalo Bills players Oregon State Beavers football players People from Felton, California People from Los Gatos, California Sportspeople from Santa Clara County, California Sportspeople from Santa Cruz, California Tennessee Titans players