Matt Giordano
Encyclopedia
Matthew Victor Giordano (born October 16, 1982 in Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...

) is an American football
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...

 safety for the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

 in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft
2005 NFL Draft
The 2005 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also held an supplemental draft that year, which was held after...

. 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 California
California Golden Bears football
The California Golden Bears football team is the college football team of the University of California. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium, however the team played at San Francisco's AT&T Park in 2011 while Memorial Stadium was being renovated, the team will return to...

.

Giordano earned a Super Bowl ring
Super Bowl ring
The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the winners of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl...

 with the Colts in Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...

. He has also been a member of the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

, Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

, and New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

.

Early years

Attending Buchanan High School
Buchanan High School
Dr. Floyd B. Buchanan High School, known as Buchanan High School, is a four-year public high school in Clovis, California, United States. The school is part the Buchanan Educational Center, which houses approximately 5,000 students at Garfield Elementary School , Alta Sierra Intermediate School ,...

 in Clovis, California
Clovis, California
Clovis is a city in Fresno County, California, United States, northeast of Fresno. The population is estimated to be 97,218 as of September, 2011. Clovis is located northeast of downtown Fresno, at an elevation of 361 feet .-History:...

, Giordano played a key role as team co-captain in Buchanan's inaugural Valley championship in 2000. His football jersey number was 2 while playing for Buchanan. As a senior, he had five interceptions and 64 tackles while causing three fumbles, and averaged nine yards per carry and 12.6 yards per reception on offense. He broke Buchanan records for longest punt return for a touchdown, most blocked kicks and most interceptions in a game. He was a two-time all (TRAC) Tri-River-Athletic-Conference first-team choice and was also named the Defensive Player of the Year by the Clovis Exchange Club and Buchanan High's Most Outstanding Player in football and track in 2001. Giordano was also crowned individual league champion in the 400 meters in 1999.

Fresno City College

Giordano attended Fresno City College
Fresno City College
Fresno City College is a community college in Fresno, California. Established in 1910, it was the first community college in California and the second in the nation...

 for two years. He won All-State honors as a freshman, was a two-time All-Conference pick, and was the Defensive MVP in the Northern California Championship game.

University of California

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...

 with the California Golden Bears
California Golden Bears
The California Golden Bears is the nickname used for 29 varsity athletic programs and various club teams of the University of California, Berkeley...

, at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

. As a senior, Giordano won All-Pacific-10 Conference first team honors, and was an All-American honorable mention. During his career, he had two interceptions, six pass deflections, one sack, 111 tackles (four for losses), two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.

Super Bowl XLI

Giordano had a big play in the Colts victory over the Bears. Giordano came in late in the 4th Quarter on an injury substitution. And on 4th and Nine for the bears, it was Giordano's big hit that dislodged the ball from Clark, to end the Bears hope for a comeback.

2009

Giordano signed a one-year contract with the Colts on April 20, 2009. He was released to make room for linebacker Cody Glenn
Cody Glenn
Cody Glenn is an American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Nebraska....

 on September 6.

Green Bay Packers

Giordano was signed by the Packers on September 23 after they released Aaron Rouse
Aaron Rouse
Aaron Roosevelt Rouse is an American football safety for the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft...

. He was released on March 5, 2010.

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders signed Giordano on August 15, 2011 after Hiram Eugene
Hiram Eugene
Hiram Eugene is an American football safety for the Oakland Raiders in the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2006...

 suffered a serious hip injury in the pre-season opener. He was released on September 3, but was re-signed on September 5.

Personal

Giordano was married March 4, 2005 to Laura Enns of Clovis. He was an American Studies
American studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the study of the United States. It traditionally incorporates the study of history, literature, and critical theory, but also includes fields as diverse as law, art, the media, film, religious studies, urban...

 major. His great-grandfather is Italian born Ralph Giordano (Also known as Young Corbett III
Young Corbett III
Young Corbett III was the world Welterweight boxing champion. He was born Raffaele Capabianca Giordano and began boxing in 1919 as Young Corbett III while still a 14-year-old "newsboy."...

), who was a world welterweight
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...

 boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

champion in 1933. Matt is the son of Victor and Janet Giordano. His notable combine marks include a 345 lb (156.5 kg) bench press and 19 repetitions at 225 lb (102.1 kg), 4.02 20 yd shuttle, 4.54 40-yd dash, 33.5 vertical jump, and a 455 lb (206.4 kg) squat.

External links

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