Ted Ginn Jr.

Early years

Ginn played for his father, Ted Ginn Sr., in high school at Glenville High School in Cleveland, Ohio, where he played defensive back, quarterback and wide receiver. Ginn was selected as the 2004 USA Today Defensive Player of the Year, a 2004 Parade All-American, and named the 2004 SuperPrep National Defensive Player of the Year. He also participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl as a member of the East team, along with former Dolphins teammates Ryan Baker and Chad Henne, and was named the Most Valuable Player of the game.

Ginn intercepted eight passes as a senior, returning five of them for touchdowns. One of his interception returns went for a state-record 102-yard touchdown, while another went for a 98-yard score. Ted has two siblings, Tiffany Ginn and Jason Lucas in Akron, Ohio.

Track and field

Ginn was also a standout track athlete for the Cleveland (OH) Glenville track team. As a junior, he became the national champion in the 110 meter hurdles and recorded the best time in the nation as a senior when he won the state title for the second consecutive year. He captured the state title in the 200 meters in a time of 21.51 seconds, after posting a time of 21.44 seconds in the preliminary rounds. He also helped the Cleveland (OH) Glenville track team to take the 4 x 400 metres relay crown in a time of 3:15.04 minutes. He was timed at 10.5 in the 100 meters as a high school junior. As a senior, he ran the 60 meter hurdles in 7.98 seconds, 200 meters in 21.16 seconds, 400 meters in 46.57 seconds and posted personal bests of 13.26w seconds and 13.40 seconds in the 39" 110 meter hurdles

Ohio State University track coach Russ Rogers recruited Ginn to run track, believing that he could qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics. However, his track career was put on hold in order to focus on football. He was timed at 10.2 in the 100 meters in his freshman year.

High school awards and honors

College career

Ginn was recruited as a defensive back by Ohio State University.

As a freshman, Ginn saw moderate playing time at receiver and finished the 2004 season with 25 receptions for 359 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also rushed for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground, led the nation with a 25.6 yards per punt return average, and returned four punts for touchdowns (which broke a Big Ten Conference record first set by Gene Derricotte in 1947 that was later tied twice). One of the most memorable moments in his freshman season was in the 30-7 win over Indiana. A pass at the beginning of the first quarter was tipped by a diving Buster Larkins, only to be grabbed by Ginn. He then broke four tackles on his way to a 59-yard touchdown.

Ginn earned a spot as the Buckeyes Starting receiver his sophomore year in 2005. He finished the season with 51 receptions for 803 yards and four touchdowns. He also returned 18 kickoffs for 532 yards, along with 25 punts for 250 yards.

Entering the 2006 season, Ginn was considered by many to be a preseason candidate for the Heisman Trophy and the Biletnikoff Award. He was a second team All-American selection and finished as the Buckeyes top receiver with 59 catches for 781 yards, while adding another 706 yards and two touchdowns on special teams. Ginn returned the opening kickoff of the 2007 BCS National Championship Game for 92 yards and a touchdown. Ginn sprained his left foot when fellow Buckeye Roy Hall slid into him during the celebration following the touchdown and sat on his foot. He left the game soon after and didn't return.

Ginn finished his career at Ohio State with 125 receptions for 1,943 yards and 15 touchdowns in 37 games. He also rushed for 213 yards, returned 38 kickoffs for 1,012 yards, and gained 900 yards on 64 punt returns, the second highest total in Ohio State history. Overall, he gained 4,068 total yards and scored 26 touchdowns.

He set a Big Ten record for most career punt return touchdowns with 6.

College awards and honors

Pre-Draft

After having to bypass the field drills at the 2007 NFL combine and Ohio State's official pro day due to a lingering foot injury suffered in the 2007 BCS Title Game, Ginn reportedly ran between 4.37 and 4.45 in a private workout for NFL Scouts held on April 12, 2007. Preceding the workout it was reported that a healthy Ginn had been timed as great as 4.28 in individual team drills during his tenure at Ohio State. In addition, in a 2007 interview with Stack Magazine while discussing his own personal improvement in the 40 yard dash, Ginn himself suggests that he had been timed at a personal best of 4.22 in the 40 yard dash. In the interview, while discussing his improvement since training at one of Tim Robertson's facilities, Ginn states "...as far as my running, it's changed me a lot. When I first got here I was running like a 5.1 40, 5.2 40 to a 4.22".

2007 NFL Draft

Ginn was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Many were expecting the Dolphins to select Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn with the Dolphins in need of a quarterback, although they would end up drafting BYU quarterback John Beck in the second round. Although Ginn was considered the fastest, and one of the most athletic picks going into the draft, Miami's selection of Ginn was booed heavily by Dolphins fans at the draft and was criticized by football pundits and even teammates. Jason Taylor said he was in shock when Ginn was selected instead of Brady Quinn. Even Ginn himself was surprised by the pick. Saying "For sure when Brady Quinn was there, and you know Miami is hurting for a quarterback right now, and Brady Quinn is a great quarterback, to be in competition with him and for me to beat him out was good. I guess the coaches saw something in me that they liked."

2007 season

Although Ginn wore No. 11 in the team's initial minicamp, it was announced he would wear No. 19 during the regular season to honor his father, who wore the number in high school.

Ginn eventually reached the end zone for the first time in Week 8 against the New York Giants on a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cleo Lemon.

In the second quarter of a November 18 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Ginn returned a Saverio Rocca punt 87 yards for a touchdown. It was Ginn's first career touchdown return and tied for the longest punt return in franchise history. Ginn, who had never had more than three receptions or 37 receiving yards in any game prior, also set career highs with four receptions for 52 yards against the Eagles. For his performance, Ginn beat out four other candidates for the Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week. He received 40 percent of the fan votes. Also, Ginn was voted by his peers as the 3rd alternate to the 2007 Pro Bowl as a kick returner.

Ginn finished his rookie season with 34 receptions for 420 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 24 punt returns for 230 yards and a touchdown, 63 kick returns for 1,433 yards, four rushes for three yards, and three fumbles.

2008 season

At the start of the 2008 season, Ginn was removed from his return duties and was replaced as a starting wide-receiver. In the season-opening loss to the New York Jets, Ginn had two receptions for 17 yards, a rush for two yards, but also had a fumble. He had a breakout game in a win against the Buffalo Bills, totaling 175 yards on 7 receptions, including a 64-yard reception. After scoring on a 40-yard end-around run and converting a crucial late-game fourth down play against the Oakland Raiders Ginn ended the season with 56 catches for 790 yards and 2 touchdowns, 32 kick returns for 657 yards and 7 punt returns for 54 yards, 2 rushing touchdowns on 5 attempts for 73 yards, and 5 fumbles.

2009 season

Ginn started the 2009 season slowly by catching two balls in his first game. Ginn then seemed to have a breakout game against the Indianapolis Colts on September 21, 2009, catching a career high 11 balls for 108 yards. Although a career game, he was criticized for dropping two potential touchdown passes, one in the final minutes of the game. The next two games Ginn dropped several passes and caught only one 4-yard pass and had a 22-yard run. In Week 5 against the rival Jets, Ginn had just two catches, but one was a 53-yard touchdown against to help the Dolphins win. New Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne was hoped to improve Ginn's game. Ginn however continued to struggle in the passing game and was demoted to backup wide receiver after Week 7. Ginn said he was angry and embarrassed about the benching entering Week 8 against the rival New York Jets. Although Ginn caught no passes in the game, he was given full-time kickoff return duties, and took out his frustrations by tying an NFL record with two kickoff returns for touchdowns, one of 100 yards and the second of 101. Those TDs are the only two of that distance in the same game (the previous record was 2 TDs of 97 yards in the same game), and the first time a player returned two kickoffs in the same quarter since 1967. Ginn won special-teams player of the month for his efforts. The next game against New England, Ginn again dropped several passes that included one in the fourth quarter during a last minute potentially game-tying drive. In the week 10 game against Tampa Bay, Ginn had zero catches despite several attempts and was ineffective in the return game. Ginn would finish the year 4th in dropped passes.

For the year, Ginn had 1,826 all-purpose yards, including 1,324 return yards and 502 yards from scrimmage, with two fumbles.

2010 season

On April 16, 2010, Miami traded Ginn to the San Francisco 49ers for a fifth round pick (Nolan Carroll) in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Ginn scored his first touchdown on a punt return against the St. Louis Rams. He caught his only receiving touchdown in the last game at home against the Arizona Cardinals. Ginn finished the 2010 season with 12 receptions, 163 yards, and 1 touchdown. He also ranked second in the league in punt return yards with a 13.3 average.

2011 season

Late in the fourth quarter of the 2011 season opener against the Seattle Seahawks, Ginn returned a kickoff (102 yards) and a punt (55 yards) for two touchdowns within 59 seconds for a game total of 268 return yards. For that accomplishment, he earned NFL special teams player of the week for week 1. Earlier that week, Ginn had accepted a salary cut from $2.2 million per season to $1 million. An injury late in the season forced the Niners to replace him on kick returns with Kyle Williams, whose mistakes during the NFC Championship Game are widely thought by fans to have cost the Niners their chance at the Super Bowl.

2012 season

On March 22, 2012, Ginn re-signed with the 49ers on a one-year deal. In the 2012 season, the 49ers finished the season 11-4-1. They reached Super Bowl XLVII where they would lose 34-31 to the Baltimore Ravens. On the last play of the Super Bowl, Ginn returned the ball and got tackled at the 50 yard line.

2013 season

On March 21, 2013, Ginn signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers. Ginn had arguably his best season while with the Panthers. He put up a career high five touchdowns on the season, while also racking up 556 yards receiving.

2014 season

On March 13, 2014, Ginn signed a three-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals. He was released on February 23, 2015.

2015 season

On March 9, 2015, Ginn re-signed with the Carolina Panthers on a two-year contract. During a Week 4 victory against division opponent Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ginn had a career high two touchdowns. Through the first four games of the season Ginn had 12 receptions for 209 yards and 3 touchdowns, exceeding his total numbers for yards and touchdowns from the year before. Through the first 12 games of the season Ginn had 35 receptions for 525 yards and 6 touchdowns, including 15.0 yards per receptions. The 6 touchdown receptions during the season tied his totals from his time with Miami, San Francisco, and Arizona. Ginn finished the season with 44 catches for 739 yards and a career high 10 touchdowns. His 520 air yards ranked No. 36 among NFL wide receivers in 2015. Ginn's efforts as a receiver and return specialist helped the Panthers reach Super Bowl 50, where Ginn had 4 catches for 74 yards and 3 punt returns in the loss to the Denver Broncos.

2016 season

Ginn played as a receiver and return specialist throughout the 2016 season, amassing 752 yards and 4 touchdowns on 54 receptions (third in all three categories), along with 593 return yards as the Panther's leading punt and kick returner.

Franchise records

As of 2017's NFL off-season, Ted Ginn held at least 6 Panthers franchise records, including:

New Orleans Saints

On March 9, 2017, Ginn signed a three-year, $11 million contract with the New Orleans Saints.

NFL records

Dolphins franchise records

Personal life

Ginn has admitted that he has a learning disability, and it takes him two to three times longer to learn something than most people. After being diagnosed in the eighth grade, Ginn had tutors to help him and graduated from middle and high school with honors.