Michael Wayne Pearson (born August 22, 1980) is an American former college and professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) and the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) for five seasons. Pearson played college football for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and earned consensus All-American honors. A second-round pick in the 2002 NFL Draft, he played professionally for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

of the NFL and the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the CFL.

Early years

Pearson was born in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

in 1980.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Mike Pearson
Retrieved March 19, 2011. He attended

Armwood High School Armwood Senior High School is a public high school located in Seffner, Florida, United States, on U.S. Highway 92. It opened in August 1984. The school is named after Blanche Armwood, a longtime Tampa resident, educator and activist. The school's ...

Seffner, Florida Seffner is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,362 at the 2020 census, up from 7,579 at the 2010 census. ZIP codes for the Seffner area are 33584 and 33583. Located approximate ...

,databaseFootball.com, Players
Mike Pearson
. Retrieved March 19, 2011. where he played high school football for the Armwood Hawks.GatorZone.com, Football History, 2001 Roster

. Retrieved March 31, 2011.

College career

Pearson accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier's

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division o ...

team from 1999 to 2001.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 89, 94, 97, 99, 103, 185 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011. After being red-shirted in 1998, he was a three-year letterman for the Gators, and he received the Gators' James W. Kynes Award, recognizing him as the lineman who "best exemplified mental and physical toughness and iron-man determination." He was also a two-time

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) Academic Honor Roll selection. Pearson played in thirty-five games with thirty-three starts, including two bowl games: the 2001

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...

and the 2000 Sugar Bowl. He was a first-team All-SEC selection in 2000 and 2001, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American in 2001. Pearson graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2001, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2013.

Professional career

Pearson was drafted in the second round (40th pick overall) in the 2002 NFL Draft by the

, and he played for the Jaguars from through .National Football League, Historical Players
Mike Pearson
Retrieved March 19, 2011. His "break" came in his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

season, when offensive tackle Maurice Williams was injured. Pearson started at left tackle for thirty-one consecutive games, until he was injured on October 3, 2004 against the Indianapolis Colts; after knee surgery he was placed on injured reserve, and returned in 2005. He started two games in 2005, and was released. In 2006, he was signed by the

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

, but released during training camp. He signed by the Houston Texans in November and was released in December. In June , he signed as a free agent with the CFL's

. He began the season as the Argos' starting

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

, but after two games, was moved to the injured reserved list with an infected right

index finger The index finger (also referred to as forefinger, first finger, second finger, pointer finger, trigger finger, digitus secundus, digitus II, and many other terms) is the second digit of a human hand. It is located between the thumb and the mid ...

.Rick Matsumoto,
Argos' Pearson hoping to return after frightening finger infection
" ''The Toronto Star'' (September 22, 2007). Retrieved July 9, 2010. Pearson was treated to intravenous therapy with serious concerns over whether the infection required finger amputation. He ultimately regained full health without any amputation and returned to his starting duties at left tackle on September 3, 2007 against the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

. On November 3, 2007, Pearson suffered a season-ending injury when teammate Chad Folk fell on his ankle. On May 31, 2008, Pearson announced his retirement from professional football, after having played in nine regular season games for the Argonauts during 2007.CFLapedia.com, Players A–Z
Mike Pearson
Retrieved March 1, 2012.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Mike 1980 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive tackles American players of Canadian football Canadian football offensive linemen Florida Gators football players Houston Texans players Jacksonville Jaguars players Miami Dolphins players Players of American football from Tampa, Florida Players of Canadian football from Tampa, Florida Toronto Argonauts players

Early years

College career

Professional career

See also

References

Bibliography