He played college football for the Rice Owls and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Miami Dolphins in 1996.

During his senior year, Izzo led McCullough with 1,081 yards rushing, while totaling 131 tackles for the Texas 5A semi-finalists.

[1] In 1994 an underdog Rice beat top 10 ranked Texas on national television by the score of 19–17, as Izzo was selected player of the game with two key sacks (sharing the honor with teammate N. D. Kalu).

Izzo was also part of the 2007 Patriots, who were the only undefeated team in the regular season since the NFL expanded to a 16-game schedule; they lost Super Bowl XLII, 17–14, to the New York Giants.

Izzo gained notoriety in 2002 in the Patriots Super Bowl parade by leading the crowd in a "Yankees suck!"

[10] During Izzo's tenure with Houston the Special Teams unit improved its DVOA ranking from dead last (ranked 32 in 2015) to 26 in 2017, including finishing in the top 10 in two critical statistical areas related to coverage teams (Opponent Kickoff Return Average and Net Punt Average, which was 41.3 yds).

[14] In February 2024, Izzo was hired by the Washington Commanders as their special teams coordinator under new head coach Dan Quinn.