Player Information
He was born on May 1, 1983 and attended Lee High in Jacksonville, FL. As a true freshman, he played in the first 3 games of the seasason, but an ankle injury sidelined him for the rest of the year. He finished with 2 tackles and 1 for a loss. He came back the following year, starting 9 games at strongside linebacker. He recorded 46 tackles, 11 for loss, 5.5 sacks, 7 pressures, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery. As a sophomore, he started 11 games, splitting time between the strongside and weakside positions. He recorded 97 tackles, 11 for loss, 3 pressures, and 5 pass breakups. He came back to his strongside position as a junior, earning 2nd team All-Big East honors. He finished with 79 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, 7 quarterback pressures, 3 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 recovery. As a senior, he earned 1st team All-Big East honors with 102 tackles, 15 for loss, 7.5 sacks, 9 pressures, 2 interceptions, and 7 pass breakups. He was selected by the Atlanta Falcosn in the fourth round (109th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft.
Career Statistics
| Year | Team | G | GS | Tack | Ast | Sack | Int | Yds | TD | FF | FR |
| 2007 | ATL | 13 | 0 | 28 | 4 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2008 | ATL | 16 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | ATL | 16 | 13 | 67 | 13 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2010 | ATL | 16 | 11 | 72 | 14 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | ATL | 10 | 8 | 31 | 16 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2012 | ATL | 16 | 15 | 95 | 24 | 2.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| TOTALS | 87 | 47 | 300 | 73 | 7.0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | |
Transactions
Signed by Atlanta Falcons on June 15, 2007 ... Re-signed by Falcons on July 27, 2011.
Contract details
Signed to a four-year contract. He will earn base salaries of: $285,000 (2007); $370,000 (2008); $460,000 (2009); and $550,000 (2010) ... In 2011, signed a five-year deal worth $17.5 million, including $6 million guaranteed.