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 Touraj Houshmandzadeh Cincinnati Bengal's seventh-round pick in 2001 NFL Draft returns for second NFL season with high promise Ö Started slowly as a rookie due to preseason injury, but flashed near seasonís end with 14 catches for 161 yards in Games 14-15 Ö Became a primary contributor on punt and kickoff returns by seasonís end Ö Averaged 13.6 yards on punt returns, including an 86-yarder, and set a team record for most punt return yards in a game (126). 2001 PARTICIPATION: Drafted by Cincinnati in seventh round (204th overall) Ö Signed July 18 Ö Played in Games 3 and 6-16 Ö Inactive for Games 1-2 and 4-5 Ö Unable to play at start of season due to left heel injury suffered in preseason Ö Got credit for one start, Dec. 23 at Baltimore Ö Saw limited action Jan. 6 at Tennessee, sidelined early by right ankle sprain. 2001 HIGHLIGHTS: Finished rookie season with 21 pass receptions for 228 yards, 12 punt returns for 13.6 avg. and 10 kickoff returns for 18.5 avg. Ö Made NFL debut Sept. 30 at San Diego and had a 10-yard punt return Ö Led the Bengals Nov. 11 at Jacksonville with 6 catches and 62 receiving yards, and he also had a key downfield block on Corey Dillonís second-quarter TD run Ö Had catches of 23 and 5 yards at Jacksonville on Bengalsí TD drive in the second quarter Ö Assumed punt returning duties Nov. 25 at Cleveland for injured Peter Warrick and set team record with 126 punt return yards on 5 returns (25.2 average), including an 86-yarder to the Cleveland 5 Ö Previous Bengals mark for punt return yards in a game had been 106 by Tommy Casanova on Oct. 8, 1972 vs. Denver Ö The 86-yarder vs. Cleveland tied for the third-longest punt return in team history, and the 126 total was the most punt return yards in a game by an AFC player in 2001 Ö Led the Bengals in receiving Dec. 23 at Baltimore with 63 yards on 5 catches Ö Was in the lineup for the first play at Baltimore and earned credit for his first start Ö Also at Baltimore, had 3 kickoff returns for 56 yards (18.7) and a 4-yard punt return Ö Had season highs of 9 catches and 98 yards in victory Dec. 30 vs. Pittsburgh, including 3 catches for 33 yards on the game-tying TD drive in the fourth quarter Ö Also drew a 5-yard pass interference call against Steelers on the tying TD drive Ö One of his catches on the drive was a 20-yarder on a third-and-6 play. KITNAíS EYE WAS ON T.J.: Though only a seventh-round draft pick, Houshmandzadeh showed he has the size and speed to be a significant presence on the field in key situations. One example: On Dec. 30 vs. Pittsburgh, when the Bengals drove 10 plays in the fourth quarter for a game-tying TD, the first 6 passes by QB Jon Kitna were intended for Houshmandzadeh. Three were complete, one resulted in a pass interference call against Pittsburgh, and two were incomplete. COLLEGE: As an Oregon State senior in 2000, Houshmandzadeh was the top-producing WR in a passing game that helped spark Beavers to No. 4 national ranking and a Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame Ö Including Fiesta Bowl, caught 48 passes for 730 yards with 7 TDs on the season Ö His WR teammate at OSU, Chad Johnson, joined Bengals last season as a second-round draft pick Ö Played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Cerritos (Ariz.) College Ö Had a 100-yard KOR for a TD in each of his Cerritos seasons. PERSONAL: Born in Victor Valley, Calif. Ö Hometown is Barstow, Calif. Ö Played RB for Barstow High School and led club to a 10-1-1 record as a senior Ö Offseason residence is Los Angeles Ö Has one child, Karrington (born 8-2-00) Ö Favorite hobbies are spending time with family, basketball, pool and PlayStation Ö Physical education major at Oregon State Ö Full name is Touraj Houshmandzadeh Ö First name is pronounced "TOO-raj" and last name is pronounced "hoosh(rhymes with push)-mahn-ZAH-duh." >>> See here Related photo Who is your Iranian of the day? In Iran or abroad? Email your image
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