Christian Ballard
Encyclopedia
Christian Ballard is an American football
defensive end
for the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football
at Iowa
after attending Lawrence Free State High School
. He was rated eleventh among defensive end prospects for the 2011 NFL Draft
. He was drafted in the fourth round as the number 106 overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings
.
Ballard made an immediate impact by playing as a true freshman and collecting 15 tackles, 4 tackles-for-loss and 2.5 quarterback sacks from the defensive end position. He also returned two kickoffs for 32 yards on special teams that season. As a sophomore Ballard become a starter at defensive end
for the Hawkeyes. For the season he tallied 40 tackles, 3.5 tackle-for-loss and 1.5 sacks. Ballard burst onto the national scene as a junior when he played both defensive end and defensive tackle, starting at both positions throughout the season. He teamed with fellow Hawkeye Adrian Clayborn
to become one of the most feared defensive lines in the nation. For the season he totaled 54 tackles, 9 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 quarterback sacks. At the end of the season he was named 3rd Team All-Big Ten by Phil Steele College Football Magazine and Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by the Coaches Association. Prior to his senior season Ballard was named First Team All-Big Ten by Sports Illustrated
, despite being the source of constant double-team blocks he would go on to gather 43 tackles, 5 tackles for loss and 2.5 quarterback sacks. After the season he again earned Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by the Coaches Association as well as the Associated Press. He also received the Coaches Appreciation Award and earned an invite to the 2011 Under Armour Senior Bowl
.
For his career Ballard totaled 152 tackles, 21.5 tackles-for-loss and 12.5 quarterback sacks.
Ballard competed in football, basketball as well as track. In football, Ballard was a 2006 Preseason Prep Star All-American, he earned first team All-State and All-Conference awards as a senior after being honorable mention all-conference as a junior and sophomore. He had scholarship offers from schools such as University of Oklahoma
, Florida State University
, University of Georgia
, UCLA, the University of Kansas
and Kansas State University
For his high school career Ballard caught 50 passes for 558 yards and six touchdowns, including 23 receptions for 287 yards and five touchdowns as a senior. He teamed with fellow All-State/All-Conference players Ryan Murphy, Mikel Ruder and Brian Murphy to lead their team to an 11-1 record and an undefeated conference mark as seniors.
Ballard also earned two letters in basketball and four letters in track and field where he earned some notoriety for, despite being 6'4" and 270 pounds he anchored the 4x400 and 4x200 relay teams which qualified for the state championship meet. Over the course of his track career Ballad had personal bests of 6.80 in the 55m dash (indoor), 42.82 in the 400m leg of the 4x400 relay and 22.97 in the 200 meter dash.
football Coach Mark Mangino
, Ballard continued to receive interest from other schools. After receiving notice via the internet that Ballard took a recruiting trip to the University of Georgia
it is rumored that Coach Mangino rescinded the Jayhawks scholarship offer. Soon after Ballard switched his verbal commitment to the University of Iowa
.
At the 2011 NFL Combine Ballard, who had received a 1st round grade from NFL Draft pundit Mel Kiper, graded out as one of the most athletic defensive lineman at that years combine. However, soon after, it was reported that he and another player (Justin Houston of the University of Georgia) had tested positive for marijuana. This caused some teams to red-flag him with the much-feared "character flaw" label. It is said that this is the reason he slipped to the 4th round of the 2011 NFL Draft despite performing very well at the NFL Combine and receiving such high marks from draft analysts such as Kiper and Todd Mcshay
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
defensive end
Defensive end
Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
for the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Iowa
Iowa Hawkeyes football
The Iowa Hawkeyes football team is the interscholastic football team at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have competed in the Big Ten Conference since 1900, and are currently a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
after attending Lawrence Free State High School
Lawrence Free State High School
Lawrence Free State High School is a fully accredited public high school, serving students in grades 9–12, located in Lawrence, Kansas. The current principal is Edward West....
. He was rated eleventh among defensive end prospects for the 2011 NFL Draft
2011 NFL Draft
The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players...
. He was drafted in the fourth round as the number 106 overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
.
College Career
At the University of IowaUniversity of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
Ballard made an immediate impact by playing as a true freshman and collecting 15 tackles, 4 tackles-for-loss and 2.5 quarterback sacks from the defensive end position. He also returned two kickoffs for 32 yards on special teams that season. As a sophomore Ballard become a starter at defensive end
Defensive end
Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
for the Hawkeyes. For the season he tallied 40 tackles, 3.5 tackle-for-loss and 1.5 sacks. Ballard burst onto the national scene as a junior when he played both defensive end and defensive tackle, starting at both positions throughout the season. He teamed with fellow Hawkeye Adrian Clayborn
Adrian Clayborn
Adrian Clayborn , a native of St. Louis, Missouri, is an American football defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.-Personal life:...
to become one of the most feared defensive lines in the nation. For the season he totaled 54 tackles, 9 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 quarterback sacks. At the end of the season he was named 3rd Team All-Big Ten by Phil Steele College Football Magazine and Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by the Coaches Association. Prior to his senior season Ballard was named First Team All-Big Ten by Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, despite being the source of constant double-team blocks he would go on to gather 43 tackles, 5 tackles for loss and 2.5 quarterback sacks. After the season he again earned Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by the Coaches Association as well as the Associated Press. He also received the Coaches Appreciation Award and earned an invite to the 2011 Under Armour Senior Bowl
Senior Bowl
The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football exhibition game played in Mobile, Alabama which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those collegiate players who have completed their eligibility. First played in 1950 in Jacksonville, Florida, the game moved to Mobile's Ladd Peebles Stadium...
.
For his career Ballard totaled 152 tackles, 21.5 tackles-for-loss and 12.5 quarterback sacks.
High School Career
At Lawrence Free State High SchoolLawrence Free State High School
Lawrence Free State High School is a fully accredited public high school, serving students in grades 9–12, located in Lawrence, Kansas. The current principal is Edward West....
Ballard competed in football, basketball as well as track. In football, Ballard was a 2006 Preseason Prep Star All-American, he earned first team All-State and All-Conference awards as a senior after being honorable mention all-conference as a junior and sophomore. He had scholarship offers from schools such as University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
, Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
, University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
, UCLA, the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
and Kansas State University
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
For his high school career Ballard caught 50 passes for 558 yards and six touchdowns, including 23 receptions for 287 yards and five touchdowns as a senior. He teamed with fellow All-State/All-Conference players Ryan Murphy, Mikel Ruder and Brian Murphy to lead their team to an 11-1 record and an undefeated conference mark as seniors.
Ballard also earned two letters in basketball and four letters in track and field where he earned some notoriety for, despite being 6'4" and 270 pounds he anchored the 4x400 and 4x200 relay teams which qualified for the state championship meet. Over the course of his track career Ballad had personal bests of 6.80 in the 55m dash (indoor), 42.82 in the 400m leg of the 4x400 relay and 22.97 in the 200 meter dash.
Controversy
In high school after making a verbal commitment to then University of KansasUniversity of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
football Coach Mark Mangino
Mark Mangino
Mark Thomas Mangino is an American football coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks college football team from 2002 to 2009. In 2007, Mangino received several National Coach of the Year honors after leading the Jayhawks to their first 12-win season in school history...
, Ballard continued to receive interest from other schools. After receiving notice via the internet that Ballard took a recruiting trip to the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
it is rumored that Coach Mangino rescinded the Jayhawks scholarship offer. Soon after Ballard switched his verbal commitment to the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
.
At the 2011 NFL Combine Ballard, who had received a 1st round grade from NFL Draft pundit Mel Kiper, graded out as one of the most athletic defensive lineman at that years combine. However, soon after, it was reported that he and another player (Justin Houston of the University of Georgia) had tested positive for marijuana. This caused some teams to red-flag him with the much-feared "character flaw" label. It is said that this is the reason he slipped to the 4th round of the 2011 NFL Draft despite performing very well at the NFL Combine and receiving such high marks from draft analysts such as Kiper and Todd Mcshay
Todd McShay
Todd McShay is a football analyst.McShay is a native of Swampscott, Massachusetts and played quarterback for the Swampscott High School football team . In 1999, He graduated from the University of Richmond with a B.A. in leadership studies, and served as the backup quarterback before a back...
.