Broncos Profile: Richard Quinn

Each month, I will showcase a current Denver Broncos player and inform you of their lives and accomplishments before coming to Denver. In doing so, I hope to shine a light on each players own unique journey on the road to Mile High. This months featured player is tight end Richard Quinn.
Richard Emanuel Quinn, Jr. was born on September 6, 1986 in Maple Heights, Ohio to Yolanda and Richard Quinn, Sr. He played his first year of high school football at Butler High School in Huntsville, Alabama before moving to Ohio during his sophomore year, where he then played at Maple Heights High School. As a junior, Quinn caught 12 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown and in his senior season, he had 32 catches for 468 yards and ten touchdowns. He earned All-Conference honors twice and also earned an All-District Selection. Quinn was a member of the SuperPrep’s All-Midwest Team and was ranked as the No. 15 tight end in the country by Rivals.com coming out of high school.

Quinn accepted a scholarship from the University of North Carolina and enrolled there in January of 2005. In his freshman year, Quinn played in nine games on special teams and as a reserve tight end. After receiving a medical redshirt year after suffering a shoulder injury his sophomore season in 2006, Quinn became a starting tight end and started eight games as a junior. Though he was mainly used as a blocking tight end, Quinn did record four catches for 27 yards and a touchdown. As a senior, Quinn started 12 games at tight end for the Tar Heels, and earned a career best eight catches for 97 yards and one touchdown on the season. Quinn decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and entered the NFL Draft after graduation.

After entering the 2009 NFL Draft, Quinn was selected in the second round (64th overall) by the Denver Broncos after Denver traded two third round picks to the Pittsburgh Steelers to move up and get him. Quinn signed a four-year contract with the team, and played in 15 games in 2009 on both offense and special teams. In 2010, Quinn played in 14 games and started at tight end in four of those games. He made the first catch of his NFL career in Week 15, when he made a nine yard reception from rookie quarterback Tim Tebow in the 23-39 loss to the Oakland Raiders.

Going into his third NFL season, Richard Quinn will look to compete for a starting spot on the offense at tight end and will try to improve on the run and pass blocking that he was so well known for at North Carolina. Quinn could prove to be a good asset as the team attempts to better the running game going into the 2011-12 season.

Follow Dustin on Twitter.

Make sure to follow Predominantly Orange on Facebook.