Player Information
He was born on March 19, 1985 and attended Pinole (CA) Valley High. He played as a reserve cornerback in 10 games as a freshamn, tallying 9 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, and blocked 3 kicks. As a sophomore, he was shifted over to reserve free safety duties. He had 28 tackles, 1 for loss, and 3 blocked kicks. As a junior, he started 4 of 11 games at free safety, finishing the year with 45 tackles, 1 for loss, and 3 pass deflections. Asa senior, he earned All-Pac-10 honorable mention with 12 starts at free safety. He had 116 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, 4 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 recovery. He was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round (98th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft.
Career Statistics
| Year | Team | G | GS | Tot | Ast | Sack | Int | Yds | TD | FF | FR |
| 2008 | ATL | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 68 | 11 | 2.0 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2010 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 75 | 18 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2011 | ATL | 16 | 15 | 85 | 19 | 0.0 | 4 | 77 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 76 | 14 | 1.0 | 6 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTALS | 74 | 63 | 305 | 62 | 3.0 | 14 | 144 | 0 | 4 | 2 | |
Transactions
Signed by Atlanta Falcons on June 10, 2008 ... Re-signed by Falcons on March 6, 2012.
Contract details
Signed by Falcons to a four-year contract. He has base salaries of: $295,000 (2008); $385,000 (2009); $470,000 (2010); and $555,000 (2011) ... Signed a five-year contract in 2012 worth $17.5 million, including a $3 million signing bonus. His base salaries are: $1.4 million (2012); $1.9 million (2013); $4.2 million (2014); $3.4 million (2015); and $3.6 million (2016). $1 million of his first year base salary is guaranteed, making his initial guarantees worth $4 million. In 2014, if he's on the roster on the fifth day of the league year, $2.25 million of his base salary will be fully guaranteed. There is a $1.6 million escalator in 2015 based on playing time, interceptions, and if he makes the Pro Bowl. There is a $1.9 million escalator in 2016 based on the same. That could push the total worth of the deal to $21 million. His cap hits are as follows: $2 million (2012); $2.5 million (2013); $4.8 million (2014); $4 million (2015); and $4.2 million (2016).