Larry English born January 22, 1986 in Aurora, Illinois is an American football outside linebacker for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chargers 16th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Northern Illinois.

Larry's career

Playing one of the tougher positions to master in a 3-4 defense, the Chargers’ top pick in the 2010 NFL Draft showed that he was the right man for the job.

English played in every game, including the playoffs, and exceeded expectations. He played a total of 539 snaps on the year and tied Shaun Phillips for the team lead with 16 hits on the quarterback. He saved his best for last, laying six hits on Washington’s quarterbacks in the '09 season finale, most in a game by a player last season.

His level of play as a rookie should come as no surprise. As a collegian, English was a two-time winner of the Vern Smith Leadership Award as the top player in the Mid-American Conference, and he was a three-time first-team All-MAC selection. English primarily played defensive end at Northern Illinois, which makes his transition to outside linebacker in the NFL even more impressive.

English was only the second defensive player in MAC history to win the Smith Award once and more impressively, he became only the fourth player ever to win it twice. He left Northern Illinois as the school’s all-time leader in sacks (31.5) and tackles for loss (63). With the help of his mom, Susan, English is in the early stages of creating the Leading Education to Athletes for their Dreams (L.E.A.D.) Foundation.

English's uncle, Charles Robinson, lettered as a fullback at Wisconsin in 1972.

TRANSACTION HISTORY: First-round pick (16), April 25, 2009...signed five-year deal, Aug. 2.

2009: First-career sacks in back-to-back games vs. PIT and DEN, Oct. 4 and 19