Ryan Izzo


Ryan Izzo is an American football tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He played college football at Florida State.

Early years

Izzo grew up in Highland Lakes, New Jersey and attended Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta, New Jersey. Izzo began his high school career at Vernon Township High School, where he anticipated playing tight end but played quarterback. He transferred to football powerhouse Pope John to play tight end.
Initially, he drew little attention from NCAA Division I football programs until Virginia Tech expressed interest and 20 other schools followed thereafter before he graduated in 2014. As a senior, he tallied 766 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Along with playing football, he also played basketball. Izzo committed to play college football for the Florida State Seminoles on September 23, 2013.

College career

As a redshirt freshman in 2015, Izzo played in all 13 of Florida State's games, catching 14 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 146 yards and one touchdown on 12 attempts.
In 2016, Izzo once again played in all 13 games, catching 19 passes for 227 yards, tallying one touchdown.
Prior to the 2017 season, Izzo was named to the John Mackey Award watch list. As a redshirt junior, he played and started in all 13 games for Florida State, having 19 receptions for 306 yards and three touchdowns.
After the season, Izzo declared for the 2018 NFL Draft.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Izzo was drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft. On September 2, 2018, Izzo was placed on injured reserve with the option of returning in 2018. Without Izzo, the Patriots reached Super Bowl LIII where they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3.
He made his NFL debut and had a three-yard reception in the Patriots' 2019 season-opening 33–3 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Izzo became the 73rd different player to catch a touchdown pass from Tom Brady after scoring a 10-yard receiving touchdown in the Patriots' Week 5 33–7 victory over the Washington Redskins. Izzo missed multiple games due to injury in 2019 due to various injuries such as a concussion and illness.