Matt Tennant
Encyclopedia
Matthew H. Tennant is an American football
center
for the New Orleans Saints
. He attended Boston College
. Tennant was considered one of the best centers available for the 2010 NFL Draft
. He was selected by the Saints in the 5th round with the 158th overall selection.
in Cincinnati, Ohio
, where he was a three-year starter on the offensive line and senior team captain. He gained Associated Press All-State second-team honors and was named a 2004 All-American by SuperPrep.
Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com
, Tennant was listed as the No. 55 offensive guard prospect in the nation in 2005. He chose Boston College over offers from Indiana
, Kentucky
, Penn State
, and Purdue
.
his initial year at Boston College, Tennant saw action in five games in the 2006 season. In his sophomore season, Tennant succeeded Kevin Sheridan as the Eagles' center. He started all 14 games for the Eagles in 2007 and helped the team to finish with 5,924 yards of total offense, while quarterback Matt Ryan
passed for 4,507 yards.
As a junior, Tennant remained BC's starting center and played in all 14 games. The Eagles' line allowed only 21 quarterback sack
s with a pair of first-year starting quarterbacks behind them. Tennant's performance earned him an All-ACC honorable mention.
Prior to his senior season, Tennant was voted a team captain. He started all games for the Eagles and anchored an offensive line that ranked 35th in the country in sacks allowed (1.42). He subsequently earned Second Team All-American honors by the Walter Camp Foundation.
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...
center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
for the 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 ....
. He attended Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
. Tennant was considered one of the best centers available for the 2010 NFL Draft
2010 NFL Draft
The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. Unlike previous years, the 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first round on Thursday, April 22, 2010, at 7:30 pm...
. He was selected by the Saints in the 5th round with the 158th overall selection.
High school career
Tennant attended Moeller High SchoolMoeller High School
Archbishop Moeller High School , known as Moeller, is a private, all-male, college-preparatory high school in the suburbs of Cincinnati, in Hamilton County, Ohio...
in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, where he was a three-year starter on the offensive line and senior team captain. He gained Associated Press All-State second-team honors and was named a 2004 All-American by SuperPrep.
Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...
, Tennant was listed as the No. 55 offensive guard prospect in the nation in 2005. He chose Boston College over offers from Indiana
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
, Penn State
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
, and Purdue
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
.
College career
After redshirtingRedshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
his initial year at Boston College, Tennant saw action in five games in the 2006 season. In his sophomore season, Tennant succeeded Kevin Sheridan as the Eagles' center. He started all 14 games for the Eagles in 2007 and helped the team to finish with 5,924 yards of total offense, while quarterback Matt Ryan
Matt Ryan
Matt Ryan is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for Villacher SV of the Austrian Hockey League .-Playing career:...
passed for 4,507 yards.
As a junior, Tennant remained BC's starting center and played in all 14 games. The Eagles' line allowed only 21 quarterback sack
Quarterback sack
In American football and Canadian football, a sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass, or when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the "pocket" and the intent of what he was going to do is unclear...
s with a pair of first-year starting quarterbacks behind them. Tennant's performance earned him an All-ACC honorable mention.
Prior to his senior season, Tennant was voted a team captain. He started all games for the Eagles and anchored an offensive line that ranked 35th in the country in sacks allowed (1.42). He subsequently earned Second Team All-American honors by the Walter Camp Foundation.