Athletes - Jeff Samardzija

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	Athletes - Jeff Samardzija

Jeffrey Alan Samardzija (pronounced sa-MAR-ja; born January 23, 1985 in Merrillville, Indiana) is Serbian, an American football wide receiver and a baseball pitcher for the University of Notre Dame. A junior, Samardzija is majoring in marketing.

Samardzija, nicknamed "Shark", grew up in Valparaiso, Indiana and was a multi-sport star at Valparaiso High School, playing football, baseball, and basketball. Athletics in the Samardzija household were something of the norm as father Sam Sr. was a semi-pro hockey player, and older brother Sam Samardzija Jr. was also an All State football & baseball player at Valparaiso. In his senior year (2002-03), he was a first-team all-state selection as both a wide receiver and a centerfielder.

He made his first impact at Notre Dame in baseball as a right-handed pitcher, finishing second in the Big East Conference in both ERA (2.95) and opponents' batting average (.209), and being named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball magazine. He continues to play baseball at Notre Dame, although he has now become better-known in football.

In football, he was a reserve for his first two seasons, catching a total of 24 passes, and not starting until the 2005 Insight Bowl at the end of his sophomore season. He has emerged as a star in the 2005 season, ending the regular season with 72 catches, 15 of them for touchdowns, for 1215 yards.

He set single-season school records in both receiving yardage and touchdown receptions. Samardzija also caught a TD pass in each of Notre Dame's first eight games in 2005, giving him the school record for consecutive games with a TD reception.

The son of Sam Sr., the late Debora Samardzija, and older brother Sam Samardzija Jr. Jeff was selected as one of the three finalists for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation's top wide receiver. Samardzija will be eligible for the NFL Draft in the spring of 2007.

He is currently the number one ranked receiver for the class of 2007 and is projected to be drafted in the first round.

Personal

Off the field Samardzija enjoys fishing and the great outdoors in his home state of Indiana.

Musical tastes include Flaming Lips, Modest Mouse, Secret Machines, Wolf Parade, & The Shins.

Respectively, he is a roommate and a good friend with current ND star Tom Zbikowski & Gonzaga standout Adam Morrison
.

A Chicago White Sox fan.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Jeff Samardzija ]

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Athletes - Jeff Samardzija

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