Donald Driver

Donald Jerome Driver (born February 2, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL).

Driver was born in Houston, Texas, on February 2, 1975.

He was the middle child of five siblings.

Driver's parents, Marvin Driver Jr. and Faye Gray, divorced when he was just a young boy.

Donald had a tough childhood living out of a U-Haul truck for a period of time during his early teens, after a collection agency confiscated his family's possessions.

Donald spent multiple nights in motel rooms that his mother had purchased with food stamps.

Driver and his older brother Marvin III, began stealing cars and selling drugs during their teenage years in order make it from day to day.

Driver was quoted by USA Today stating, "You try to do anything you can to provide for your family."

At the age of 14 years, Donald would move in with his grandmother, Betty Lofton.

This was the point of time where his life started to turn around.

Driver shone as an athlete early in his years at Milby High School in Houston.

He lettered four times each in track, football, basketball and baseball.

He was a Texas All-State honorable mention in football, where he played at the wide receiver, defensive back, and kickoff return positions.

Driver attended Alcorn State University in Mississippi, where he lettered in both football and track & field.

He finished his college football career at Alcorn State with 88 receptions for 1993 yards (19.69 yards per catch).

He was a five-time "Athlete of the Year" in his conference for his track and football prowess.

Driver is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Driver is a decorated track athlete.

He is an Olympic-class high jumper, being able to jump 7 ft. He qualified for the 1996 Olympic Field Trials in the high jump.

He competed for the Alcorn State Braves track team, where he excelled in the high jump and earned all-conference honors his senior year.

He leaped 2.30 meters in the high jump, 15.62 meters in the triple jump and 7.75 meters in the long jump.

After playing college football for Alcorn State University, Driver was picked by Green Bay in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft.

He spent his entire 14-season NFL career with the Packers and holds the franchise's all-time records for most career receptions and receiving yards.

Driver was a member of the Packers team that won Super Bowl XLV over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Every year in Cleveland, Driver holds the Donald Driver Football Camp for local kids which is held at the Cleveland High School Football field.

Upon retirement, he won season 14 of Dancing with the Stars.

Driver was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft with the 213th overall pick.

He spent his entire career with the Packers.

Known as one of the most consistent wide receivers in the game, Driver was not particularly productive his first three seasons in Green Bay (1999–2001), as he was behind wide receivers Antonio Freeman and Corey Bradford on the depth chart.

With the departure of Freeman and Bradford, Driver blossomed in a starting role.

Driver was solid throughout his career, often posting 1,000 receiving yards in a season.

Driver had the most catches in the NFL in the middle of the field in 2006.

He set a career best for yards on November 12, 2006, when he caught six passes for 191 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings.

Driver finished the 2006 season in the top five of the league in reception yardage with 1,295 yards.

He also recorded the most receptions in his career with 92 of them, earning a spot in the 2007 Pro Bowl.

On December 16, 2007, during a 33–14 victory over the St. Louis Rams, veteran Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre broke Dan Marino's all-time record mark of 61,361 career passing yards.

The new record came on a seven-yard completion to Driver.

Driver was selected for the 2008 Pro Bowl.

In the NFC Championship game on January 20, 2008, against the New York Giants, Driver had the longest play in the playoffs of the Packers' franchise history with a 90-yard touchdown catch from Favre.

On October 18, 2009, Driver became the Green Bay Packers' all-time leading receiver in catches, with 596.