11 JEREMY BLOOM - WR

HEIGHT – 5-9

WEIGHT – 180

COLLEGE – Colorado

BIRTHDATE – April 2, 1982

BIRTHPLACE – Loveland, CO

HOW ACQUIRED – FA ‘08

NFL EXPERIENCE – 2^nd Year

PRO: Re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 11, 2008…signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad on January 2, 2008…spent the 2006 season on the Reserved/Injured List with the Eagles’…was originally the Philadelphia Eagles’ first selection in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft, but was released on September 1, 2007.

2007 (0-0): Released by the Philadelphia Eagles on September 1…signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad on January 2, 2008.

2006 (0-0): Spent the entire season on the Reserve/Injured List after injuring his hamstring during training camp.

COLLEGE: He had five career plays of 75 yards or longer (two receptions, two punt returns, one kickoff return), tied with Byron White for the second most in school history, and just one behind the leader, Ben Kelly (six between 1997-99)…finished his career eighth in punt return yards (625), tied for fifth in punt return touchdowns (2), 11th in kickoff return yards (627), 57th in receiving yards (458) and 48th in all-purpose yards (1,792). 2004: NCAA denied a final CU appeal for reinstatement for Bloom to be able to play college football and still ski professionally so he could keep alive his hopes to represent the United States in moguls skiing in the 2006 Winter Olympics (Turin, Italy)…if eligible to play, he figured to be CU’s top return man for punts and kickoffs, as well as a key player in the rotation at wide receiver (he would have been one of just two returning receivers who had receptions in 2003).  Street & Smith’s selected him as a preseason honorable All-America at kick returner, where The Sporting News lists him as the No. 8 player in the nation. 2003: Had 80 touches for 1,286 yards, or 16.1 per touch…most of those came on kick returns, as he led the Big 12 Conference in total kick return yards with 878, ranking fifth in the league in kickoff returns (30th NCAA) and sixth in punt returns (21st NCAA)…returned 24 kickoffs for 589 yards (24.5 per), including an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Kansas State, along with 24 punt returns for 289 yards, an average of 12.0 per…caught 22 passes for 356 yards (16.2 per reception), with one touchdown, an 81-yard catch and run at Florida State…had at least one reception in 11 games, with a season and career-high of five for 97 yards in a 50-47 overtime win over Kansas…other touches came on rushes, a combination of reverses or quick handoffs, as he had 10 attempts for 52 yards with a long of 19…earned second-team all-Big 12 honors from the league coaches at kick returner (honorable mention by the Associated Press)…also was the Special Teams Player of the Year in Colorado as selected by the state’s chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame (and was a first-team member of its All-Colorado team)…CU coaches named him winner of the Bill McCartney Award, presented for special teams achievement, as he was twice selected as CU’s special teams player of the week (for the Baylor and Kansas State games)...In that Baylor game, he set a school record for the most kick return yards in a game by a Buff with 250 (143 kickoff, 107 punt). 2002: As a kick return man, he was a first-team Freshman All-America team member by both the FWAA and collegefootballnews.com, which also selected him as an honorable mention choice on its overall team; The Sporting News tabbed him a third team frosh All-American…saw action in 13 games, including the Alamo Bowl and had quite an impact…he participated in three of the five longest plays involving a true freshman in CU history…the first time he touched the ball as a collegian, he returned a punt 75 yards against Colorado State to get the Buffs on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter…against Kansas State, he had a 94-yard catch and run reception for a touchdown, the longest pass play in school history(also his first career catch)…had an 80-yard punt return for six versus Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship…including the bowl game, he averaged 15.0 yards for 23 punt returns to rank 13th in the nation (he was fifth at 16.8 through the regular season, but the NCAA included bowl stats for the first time)…was the first CU freshman (true or redshirt) to return more than one punt for scores in a single season. 2001: He delayed his enrollment to pursue his dream of making the U.S. Olympic ski team for the 2002 Winter Olympics, which he accomplished…did report with his class for fall camp, participated in the freshman and a couple of varsity practices, and then left for San Diego for training.

PERSONAL: As a senior, he earned PrepStar and SuperPrep all-Midlands honors, as he was listed as the No. 68 player overall (the seventh receiver) in the area by SP…also earned first-team all-state from the Denver Post and all-area honors…as a senior, he caught 48 passes for 1,116 yards and 12 touchdowns, and ran a few successful reverses, gaining about 200 yards on five attempts…also occasionally returned punts…as a junior, when he garnered all-area accolades, he caught 19 passes for 550 yards and six touchdowns…his career totals were thus: 67 catches for 1,666 yards and 18 touchdowns…was on the junior varsity as a sophomore, and was the quarterback (and a defensive back) on the freshman team…his top games include a 35-12 win over Lakewood in the 2000 state playoffs, when he broke three school records with nine receptions for 204 yards and four touchdowns…also had 135 yards on four receptions in a win over Northglenn, and as a junior, he opened the year with four catches for 110 yards and two scores in a 14-12 win…against Rampart in the 2000 playoffs, he had his best day as a runner, rushing three times for 85 yards…Loveland was 13-1 his senior year, claiming the Colorado 4A state championship, and was 8-2 his junior year…he has lettered in track three times (relays, sprints), and is a three-time all-state performer; he helped Loveland to the state title his junior year as a member of the 4x200 relay team…was a communication major at Colorado, and was in good academic standing when the NCAA ruled against him (he has every intention of completing his degree)…was an honor roll student all four years in high school, and maintained a 3.0 grade point average at CU despite his hectic travel schedule…for his accomplishments in football and skiing, the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame named him the Colorado Amateur Athlete of the Year for 2002, while Mile High Sports magazine named him the state’s athlete of the year…in March of 2003, he won the 30th annual Superstars Competition that took place in Jamaica; he defeated nine professional athletes in the competition, of which all had to choose seven of 10 events to participate…tallied wins in the half-mile run and the 100-yard dash (which he accomplished in 9.41 seconds)…donated his $45,000 prize to charity, as the NCAA rules prohibited him from keeping it…born in Fort Collins, Co.