Cortland Finnegan
 Cortland Finnegan at the 2009 Pro Bowl. | |||||||
| Tennessee Titans | |||||||
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| Career information | |||||||
| College: | Samford | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2006 / round: 7 / pick: 215 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 5, 2010 | |||||||
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Cortland Temujin Finnegan (born February 2, 1984) is an American football defensive back for the Tennessee Titans. He played college football for Samford University.
High school career
Finnegan attended Milton High School in Milton, Florida, where he starred as safety and tailback, earning first-team All-State, All-Northwest Florida and 3A District Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2001. He caught 22 passes for 403 yards, and also averaged 6.4 yards per rush and scored 11 touchdowns rushing. On defense, he recorded 115 tackles and intercepted five passes in 2001.
He was also starting at point guard for the basketball team.
College career
During his sophomore year, Finnegan was named first-team All-OVC, third-team All-OVC as returner, third-team All-American by Sports Network and earned Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors, while starting every game. Finnegan totaled team and career-high 108 tackles, three tackles for loss, career-high three interceptions, eight passes defensed and two fumble recoveries, and he also returned 21 kickoffs for 577 yards (27.5 avg.) and one touchdown.
As a junior, Cortland Finnegan was named first-team All-OVC, while starting every game at free safety. He led his team with 86 tackles, two tackles for loss, three interceptions (tied career-high), two passes defensed and one fumble forced. Finnegan also returned 11 kickoffs for 286 yards (26.0 avg.).
During his senior year at Samford, Finnegan was named first-team All-American by NFL Draft Report, first-team All-American by American Football Coaches Association and first-team All-OVC for third consecutive year. He started every game at free safety and led team with 98 tackles for third consecutive season and added two tackles for loss, one interception, seven passes defensed, one fumble forced and one fumble recovery. Cortland Finnegan ranked first in OVC conference with 15.1 punt return average, while returning 14 punts for 212 yards and one touchdown. Ranked second in OVC conference with 25.1 kickoff return average on 15 returns for 376 yards.
Professional career
2006 NFL Draft
Playing at Samford, Finnegan was unnoticed and overlooked in the 2006 NFL Draft. He displayed good speed at Samford's Pro Day , but lacked ideal height and was deemed a shaky tackler.[1] Sports Illustrated projected him to go undrafted, but Finnegan was selected by the Tennessee Titans with the seventh pick of the seventh round (215th overall). He was the first Samford player drafted since Gary Fleming went 163rd overall to the Baltimore Colts in the 1969 NFL Draft.
| Pre-draft measureables | ||||||||||
| Ht | Wt | 40-yard dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20 ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | Wonderlic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5-9⅝ ‡ | 188 lb ‡ | 4.34 ‡ | 4.34 ‡ | 6.95 ‡ | 44 in. ‡ | 10'08" ‡ | 14 ‡ | # | ||
| (‡ represents Samford Pro Day) | ||||||||||
Tennessee Titans
He played in all 16 games with two starts (one October 15 at Washington as nickel back and again on November 19 at Philadelphia as left cornerback). Finnegan had 57 tackles, two sacks, three quarterback pressures, one tackle for a loss, seven passes defensed, one forced fumble, and he returned a fumble from David Garrard for a ninety-two yard touchdown during the December 17 game against Jacksonville. He also tied for fourth on the team with 15 special teams tackles with one fumble recovery.
He was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time for intercepting two David Garrard passes during his Week 1 performance of the 2008 season.[2]
Finnegan was a pleasant surprise for Tennessee in the 2006-07 season after starting at the beginning of the Titans' six-game win streak. He made plays left and right; most notably his 92 yard fumble return against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, December 17. It was one of the 3 defensive touchdowns for the Titans in that game—a franchise record. In his NFL debut against the Jets he had a sack and forced fumble.
On December 16, 2008, the National Football League named Finnegan a 2009 Pro Bowl starter alongside Oakland Raiders corner Nnamdi Asomugha. It was Finnegan's first Pro Bowl selection.
References
- ^ "2006 NFL Draft - Cortland Finnegan". SI.com. April 4, 2006.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ "Finnegan Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week". titansradio.com. Retrieved 2008-09-23. [dead link]
External links
Template:2008 All-Pro Team Template:2009 Pro Bowl AFC starters