Ernest Shazor

Shazor was born in Detroit, Michigan. He attended Martin Luther King High School in Detroit, where he played for the King Crusaders high school football team. As a senior in 2000, he led the Crusaders to their first Detroit Public School League title since 1991. The Parade magazine high school All-American was selected Michigan Player of the Year by USA Today in his final campaign. He was rated the best prep prospect in the Midwest and the No. 3 defensive back in the nation by SuperPrep. He was a consensus all-state choice and a member of The Detroit News ' Blue Chip List (top-rated player).{{cite news|author=Angelique S. Chengelis|title=Top recruit Shazor readies for U-M|newspaper=The Detroit News|date=2001-01-14|id={{ProQuest|404609974}}}}{{cite news|author=John Niyo|title=Detroit King's Shazor leads pack of top-notch seniors With 4.45 speed and a yearning for hard hits, playmaker is every recruiters dream|newspaper=The Detroit News|date=2000-08-24|id={{ProQuest|404584340}}}}{{cite news|title=The Blue Chip List|newspaper=The Detroit News|date=2002-01-14|id={{ProQuest|404610053}}}}

He recorded 224 tackles, caused two fumbles, blocked eight punts and intercepted 21 passes as a safety, and tallied 11 receptions and four touchdowns as a wide receiver during his last two years at MLK. Shazor was credited with 97 tackles, eight interceptions, two forced fumbles and blocked two punts during his senior year.{{cite news|title=Leading Defensive Back Makes Big Plays|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=2001-01-28|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=m4cNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vG8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2582,5153764&dq=ernest-shazor&hl=en}} He was also part of the track team at MLK where he ran a personal best 10.7 in the 100 meter dash.

Shazor attended the University of Michigan, and played for coach Lloyd Carr's Michigan Wolverines football team for three years from 2002 to 2004.{{cite news|title=Michigan Safety Will Enter the Draft: Shazor expects to be picked early|newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|date=2005-01-10|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EbwaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IEUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6461,7755295&dq=ernest-shazor&hl=en}} Shazor redshirted as a freshman and appeared in 12 games as a reserve safety in 2002, posting 25 tackles (18 solos) with a four-yard sack and two forced fumbles. He took over strong safety duties in 2003, starting the final 11 games. Shazor finished fourth on the team with 57 tackles (40 unassisted), adding eight stops behind the line of scrimmage, two interceptions and three pass deflections.

As a junior in 2004, Shazor started every game at strong safety and led Michigan with 84 overall tackles (17 solo), 10 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries.{{cite web |title=Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page |publisher=University of Michigan |url=http://stats.ath.umich.edu/football/footstart.php |accessdate=2010-04-26 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112175906/http://stats.ath.umich.edu/football/footstart.php |archivedate=2007-11-12 }} At the end of the 2004 season, Shazor was selected as a first-team All-American by the Associated Press,{{cite news|title=2004 AP ALL-AMERICA (Division I) FOOTBALL TEAMS|newspaper=Journal - Gazette. Ft. Wayne, Ind.|date=2004-12-14}} Football Writers Association of American, Walter Camp Football Foundation, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, CBS Sports, College Football News, and Rivals.com. He was also a finalist for the coveted Jim Thorpe Award.{{cite news|author=Gennaro Filice|title=Shazor unclear on going pro|newspaper=The Michigan Daily|date=2005-01-05|url=http://www.michigandaily.com/content/shazor-unclear-going-pro}}

In three seasons with the Wolverines from 2002 to 2004, Shazor was credited with 166 overall tackles (125 solo), 19 tackles for loss, three sacks for minus-23 yards, eight pass break-ups, five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He also had four interceptions for 123 yards in returns and a touchdown.

In January 2005, Shazor announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility in order to play professional football.{{cite news|author=Angelique S. Chengelis|title=U-M's Shazor to declare for NFL draft|newspaper=The Detroit News|date=2005-01-09|id={{ProQuest|404321427}}}} Though undrafted in the 2005 NFL draft, Shazor was signed as a free agent by the Arizona Cardinals in April 2005.{{cite news|author=John Heuser|title=Undrafted Shazor signs free-agent deal; Michigan safety headed for Arizona|newspaper=The Grand Rapids Press|date=2005-04-25|id={{ProQuest|285900294}}}} He was activated on the Cardinals' roster in mid-November 2005,{{cite news|title=U-M's Shazor activated|newspaper=The Grand Rapids Press|date=2005-11-19|id={{ProQuest|286061510}}}} and he played in two games for the Cardinals during the 2005 NFL season.{{cite web|title=Ernest Shazor profile|publisher=pro-football-reference.com|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/ShazEr20.htm|date=2010-04-26}} The Cardinals announced Shazor's release and granted him an injury settlement September 4, 2006.{{cite news|title=Shazor released with injury settlement |publisher=KFFL |date=2006-09-04 |url=http://www.kffl.com/player/11352/nfl/news/ernest-shazor |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205013335/http://www.kffl.com/player/11352/nfl/news/ernest-shazor |archivedate=December 5, 2014 }}

In December 2006, Shazor agreed to a one-year contract with the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League.{{cite news|title=Local Beat|newspaper=Orlando Sentinel|date=2006-12-14|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2006/12/14/local-beat-12/|access-date=2010-04-26}} In February 2007, the Predators announced that Shazor had not shown up for training camp, and no explanation had been given for his absence.{{cite news|author=Josh Robbins|title=NFL veterans hope to help Preds: Dwayne Carswell and Greg Jefferson bring 17 seasons of NFL experience to Orlando|newspaper=The Orlando Sentinel|date=2007-02-14|id={{ProQuest|462739322}}}} Nearly two weeks later, The Orlando Sentinel reported that the "mystery surrounding" Shazor continued as he had still not shown up in the Predators' training camp.{{cite news|author=Josh Robbins|title=Receiver released; more cuts coming|newspaper=The Orlando Sentinel|date=2007-02-25|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/orlandosentinel/access/1222414261.html?dids=1222414261:1222414261&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Feb+25,+2007&author=Josh+Robbins,+Sentinel+Staff+Writer&pub=Orlando+Sentinel&desc=Receiver+released;+more+cuts+coming&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026124505/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/orlandosentinel/access/1222414261.html?dids=1222414261:1222414261&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Feb+25,+2007&author=Josh+Robbins,+Sentinel+Staff+Writer&pub=Orlando+Sentinel&desc=Receiver+released;+more+cuts+coming&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 26, 2012}} He was put on waivers by the Predators in May 2007.{{cite news|title=Transactions|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2007-05-22|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06E5DA1F31F931A15756C0A9619C8B63}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{2004 NCAA Division I-A College Football Consensus All-Americans}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shazor, Ernest}}

Category:1983 births

Category:Living people

Category:All-American college football players

Category:American football safeties

Category:Arizona Cardinals players

Category:Michigan Wolverines football players

Category:Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School alumni

Category:Players of American football from Detroit