Brian Cushing

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Brian Cushing

Cushing in 2010.
No. 56     Houston Texans
Inside linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth: January 24, 1987(1987-01-24)
Place of birth: Park Ridge, New Jersey
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Weight: 248 lb (112 kg)
Career information
College: Southern California
NFL Draft: 2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 15
Debuted in 2009 for the Houston Texans
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 16, 2011
Tackles     324
Sacks     9.5
INTs     6
Fumbles Forced     5
Stats at NFL.com

Brian Cushing (born January 24, 1987) is a professional American football inside linebacker for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Cushing was selected in the 1st round (15th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Texans. He played college football at the University of Southern California.

Contents

[edit] Early years

Cushing is one of three children of Irish/Polish descent. His mother was born in Germany and his father was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. His brother Michael was a rugby player at Providence College. Cushing trained throughout his childhood in Closter, New Jersey. Cushing attended Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey and went on to lead the Crusaders to the 2004 Group IV State Championship as a linebacker, tight end, and running back against Don Bosco Preparatory High School, providing huge plays in the 13-10 win.[1] He was named "2004 North Jersey Player of the Year" by The Record (Bergen County).[2] and played in the 2005 U.S. Army All-American Bowl alongside future USC teammates Patrick Turner, Rey Maualuga and Mark Sanchez.[citation needed]

Cushing was recruited by top colleges such as the University of Florida, University of Virginia, Notre Dame, and Boston College, before ultimately committing to the University of Southern California. Cushing was a four year starter who also started in four Rose Bowls. Only two players have ever done this; Archie Griffin from Ohio State University was the other.[citation needed] Brian Cushing also played alongside Sean

[edit] College career

Cushing celebrating a 2006 victory over Stanford; during the season he played the "Elephant" position in the 4-3 under defense used that year.

Cushing attended USC and played for the Trojan football team (2005-2008 seasons) under head coach Pete Carroll and Linebacker Coach Ken Norton Jr. Cushing shared the #10 jersey with Trojan starting quarterback John David Booty from 2005 to 2007.

Cushing was on the 2007 preseason Phil Steele's All-America team and on the 2007 Bednarik Award and Lott Trophy watch lists.

Cushing returned a failed onside kick attempted by Notre Dame at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a late fourth-quarter touchdown on November 25, 2006.

During his college career Cushing recorded 377 Tackles, 18 Sacks, 12 Forced Fumbles, 5 Fumbles Recovered, and 7 Interceptions.

On January 1, 2007, Cushing was named the Defensive MVP of the Rose Bowl Game, after recording 2½ sacks and forcing a third-quarter fumble that changed the momentum of the game.[3]

Cushing was one of twelve senior USC players, including the four senior linebackers Cushing, Kaluka Maiava, Clay Matthews III and Rey Maualuga, invited to the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine.[4] He also participated in the 2009 Senior Bowl with Maualuga, Matthews, Patrick Turner and others. Alongside fellow USC linebackers Maualuga and Matthews, he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated's 2009 NFL Draft Preview magazine, as all three were regarded as potential first round selections.[5]

[edit] College awards and honors

[edit] Professional career

[edit] 2009 NFL Draft

Pre-draft measureables
Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP Wonderlic
6 ft 3 in 243 lb 4.57* s 3.52* s 6.94* s 37* in 11* ft 6* in 35* rep 29*

[edit] Houston Texans

Cushing was drafted with the 15th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.

He scored his first career points on October 4, 2009 when he recorded a safety against the Oakland Raiders. The safety was the first recorded by a Texan since the 2002 season.[15]

Cushing was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 6 of the 2009 NFL Season. Cushing became the first rookie to earn the award in the season.[16] In Week 8, Cushing was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week again, becoming the first Texans rookie to win the award twice in one season.[17] Cushing was also named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for November.[18]

Cushing finished tied with Ray Lewis for the AFC lead with 134 tackles and was selected to the 2010 Pro Bowl as a starter. Cushing was one of three rookies to make it to the Pro Bowl,[19] another being a former USC teammate.

On January 5, 2010, Cushing was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Cushing is the second Texan to win the award, the first being DeMeco Ryans in 2006.[20]

On May 7, 2010, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Cushing would be suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season for a positive test in September 2009 violating the NFL's performance-enhancing substances policy for having above normal levels of hCG, a hormone, in his system. Cushing had previously denied rumors of his using performance-enhancing substances prior to being drafted. Cushing still denies that he ever ingested or injected any performance enhancers and claimed the test result could have been from a cancerous tumor. Cushing then stated that he would undergo further medical tests to determine how hCg entered his system.[21]

On May 12, 2010, in a revote of the Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year award after his suspension was made public, Cushing received the most votes again, retaining his award. His second team All-Pro status from his rookie season, however, was rescinded by the AP. Cushing is the 1st player ever to have a revote, even though several other players in the NFL's past history have had similar violations during their rookie season.[33]

Cushing was suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season for testing positive for banned substances. In the final 12 games, he totaled 76 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4 pass deflections, and 1 forced fumble.

In 2011, the Houston Texans finished the season with a 10-6 record and made it to the playoffs for the first time in team history. Cushing was named Team MVP and while he wasn't voted to the Pro-Bowl he earned AP 2nd Team All-Pro honors after finishing the season with 114 tackles, 4 sacks, 5 pass deflections, 2 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles. Houston Texans defensive coordinator, Wade Phillips, called Cushing a "holy phenom" and also said that "he's one of the best I've coached, and I've been at it a long time." Cushing said that he will use the fact that he did not make the Pro-Bowl as "motivation and a driving force" to become better. The Texans defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 31-10 in the first round but were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens 20-13 in the Divisional Round.

[edit] NFL awards and honors

  • 2x AFC Defensive Rookie of the Month (November 2009 & December 2009)[18]
  • 2x AFC Defensive Player of the Week (2009 weeks 6 & 8)[22]
  • 2009 AFC Defensive Player of the Month of November
  • 2009 Pro Bowl selection (starter)
  • 2009 All-Rookie Selection (Sporting News, Pro Football Writers Association)
  • 2009 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
  • 2011 Team MVP
  • 2011 Second Team All-Pro

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mehta, Manish. "Family of former Bergen Catholic star Brian Cushing seething at unfounded steroid rumors as NFL draft approaches", The Star-Ledger, April 23, 2009. Accessed February 16, 2011.
  2. ^ Rosen, Dan. "B.C. gave it his all for BC", The Record (Bergen County), December 12, 2004. Accessed December 1, 2007. "The 6-foot-2, 225-pound two-way standout led the Crusaders to a State title with a 13-10 win over archrival Don Bosco on Dec. 3, and is The Record's 2004 North Jersey Player of the Year."
  3. ^ USC in parade of star power: Trojans jettison Michigan 'claim', New York Daily News, January 2, 2006
  4. ^ Ted Miller, Pac-10 NFL combine invitees, ESPN.com, February 2, 2009, Accessed February 2, 2009.
  5. ^ Gary Klein, USC's Maualuga, Cushing and Matthews grace Sports Illustrated cover, LATimes.com, April 21, 2009, Accessed April 26, 2009.
  6. ^ "Scout.com Freshman All-Americans". http://wisconsin.scout.com/2/478532.html. 
  7. ^ "Pac-10 Football Awards and All-Conference Team Announced". http://www.pac-10.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/112706aak.html. 
  8. ^ "Pac-10 Football Awards and All-Conference Team Announced". http://www.pac-10.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/120307aal.html. 
  9. ^ "USC's Cushing looks for another big Rose Bowl". USA Today. December 30, 2007. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2007-12-30-541488874_x.htm. Retrieved April 26, 2010. 
  10. ^ "Pac-10 Announces All-Conference Football Awards". http://www.pac-10.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/120808aaj.html. 
  11. ^ "Rivals.com 2008 All-Pac 10 Team". http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=887516. 
  12. ^ "Rivals.com 2008 All-America Teams". http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=887528. 
  13. ^ "SI.com's 2008 All-Americans". CNN. December 16, 2008. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/football/ncaa/12/15/all.americans/?cnn=yes. Retrieved April 26, 2010. 
  14. ^ "AP.com's 2008 All-Americans". http://associatedpress.com/2008/football/ncaa/12/15/all.americans/?cnn=yes. 
  15. ^ "NFL.com Texans' defense steps up in rout of Raiders". http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2009100402/2009/REG4/raiders@texans#recap-channels:cat-post-recap-full-story. 
  16. ^ "Houston Texans Cushing wins AFC Defensive Player of the Week". http://www.houstontexans.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=5715. 
  17. ^ "Houston Texans Cushing wins second AFC Player of the Week award". http://www.houstontexans.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=5773. 
  18. ^ a b "Houstontexans.com Cushing wins NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month". http://www.houstontexans.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=5878. 
  19. ^ "Miles Austin, Brian Cushing, Ray Rice named to Pro Bowl". http://topics.dallasnews.com/article/001Xf2Gdpycja?q=NFL. 
  20. ^ "Cushing seventh straight LB named top defensive rookie". http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/12745979/cushing-seventh-straight-lb-named-top-defensive-rookie. 
  21. ^ NFL Def. Rookie of the Year Brian Cushing suspended 4 games for steroids violation. USA Today. 2010-05-07.
  22. ^ "Houston Chronicle Texans' Cushing wins AFC defensive honor". http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/fb/texansfront/6703448.html. 

[edit] External links

Draft years

70  · 71  · 72  · 73  · 74  · 75  · 76  · 77  · 78  · 79  · 80  · 81  · 82  · 83  · 84  · 85  · 86  · 87  · 88  · 89  · 90  · 91  · 92  · 93  · 94  · 95  · 96  · 97  · 98  · 99  · 00  · 01  · 02  · 03  · 04  · 05  · 06  · 07  · 08  · 09  · 10  · 11
Carr • A. Johnson • Robinson • Babin • T. Johnson • Williams • Okoye • Brown • Cushing • Jackson • Watt

AFC East: BUF  · MIA  · NE  · NYJ • North: BAL  · CIN  · CLE  · PIT • South: HOU  · IND  · JAC  · TEN • West: DEN  · KC  · OAK  · SD

NFC East: DAL  · NYG  · PHI  · WAS • North: CHI  · DET  · GB  · MIN • South: ATL  · CAR  · NO  · TB • West: ARI  · STL  · SF  · SEA
Draft Years: 2002  • 2003  • 2004  • 2005  • 2006  • 2007  • 2008  • 2009  • 2010  • 2011
2004: Dunta Robinson | 2005: Jerome Mathis | 2006: DeMeco Ryans | 2007: Fred Bennett | 2008: Steve Slaton | 2009: Brian Cushing | 2010: Earl Mitchell | 2011: J. J. Watt
2005: Domanick Williams | 2006: Andre Johnson | 2007: DeMeco Ryans | 2008: Andre Johnson | 2009: Andre Johnson | 2010: Arian Foster & Andre Johnson | 2011: Brian Cushing
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brian_Cushing&oldid=473814980"
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