Alterraun Verner

Alterraun Verner

Verner with the Tennessee Titans in 2013
No. 21 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Position:	Cornerback
Personal information
Born:	(1988-12-13) December 13, 1988 Orange, California
Career information
College:	UCLA
NFL draft:	2010 / round: 4 / pick: 104
Career history
Tennessee Titans (2010–2013) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2014–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
Pro Bowl (2013) Second-team All-Pro (2013) First-team All-American (2009) First-team All-Pac-10 (2009) Second-team All-Pac-10 (2008) Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (2006)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 12, 2016
Tackles: 426 Passes defended: 66 Interceptions: 15 Forced fumbles: 5 Defensive touchdowns: 2 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Alterraun Ennis Verner (born December 13, 1988) is an American football cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

High school career

Verner attended Mayfair High School in Lakewood, California, where he played wide receiver, defensive back, linebacker and special teams. As a senior, he made 50 receptions for 907 yards and 13 touchdowns. On defense, he made 56 tackles and four interceptions (one returned for a 102-yard touchdown). Verner earned second-team All-CIF Southern Section honors and was selected to play in Shrine All-Star Game. He played for legendary coach Andrew Slome.

He also lettered all four seasons in track & field for coach Josh Barker. Prior to high school, Verner won a silver medal in the 1500 metres at the 1997 California State Game, and placed fourth in the 4x100m relay at the 2000 USATF Youth Nationals. As a freshman at Mayfair, he was selected the Team's Most Valuable Performer, and was the league champ in both the 110m and 300m hurdle (45.0) events. As a sophomore, he was the league champ in 4x400 relay, second in 110m high hurdles and high jump (6-2). As a junior, he served as team co-captain, earning Suburban League Academic All-League honors. He was the league champ in the high jump (6-4) and 4x100m relay. As a senior, he had bests of 6-6 (1.98m) in the high jump, 20-10 (6.37m) in the long jump, 10.7 in the 100-meter dash and 39.70 in the 300m hurdles.

An excellent student, Verner held a 4.17 GPA and achieved a 1740 SAT score. He also served as a peer tutor to his high school football team in the subjects of math and history. Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Verner was listed as the No. 49 cornerback prospect in the nation. He chose UCLA over Boston College, Oregon, and Washington.

College career

In his true freshman year at UCLA, Verner finished fourth among Bruins with 59 tackles and third on the team with two interceptions, while leading the team with 123 interception yards and two touchdowns. He was named co-Freshman of the Year for the Pac-10 Conference (alongside Jairus Byrd and Taylor Mays), and was selected first-team Freshman All-America by College Football News and Scripps/FWAA, as well as second-team by The Sporting News, Scout.com, and Rivals.com.

As a sophomore, Verner appeared in all 13 games, while starting 10, and ranked fourth on the squad with 75 tackles. He finished with 15 passes broken up and four interceptions. In his junior year, Verner was a starter in all 12 games, and was second on the team in tackles with 73. He was selected to the second-team All-Pac-10 squad chosen by the league's coaches.

In November 2009, he was named one of the twelve semifinalists for the 2009 Jim Thorpe Award.

In his senior year, he started in all 13 games and finished with 72 tackles, 51 solo. He also had 5 interceptions and 158 interception return yards, with one of them resulting in a touchdown. He also had another defensive touchdown as a fumble recovery.

In 2011, Verner returned to UCLA during the NFL off-season to complete his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	189 lb (86 kg)	4.52 s	1.55 s	2.57 s	4.12 s	6.70 s	32 in (0.81 m)	9 ft 8 in (2.95 m)	11 reps
All values from the NFL Combine

Tennessee Titans

In the 2010 NFL Draft, Verner was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the 4th round, 142nd overall and 18th cornerback taken.

On October 10, 2010, Verner had his first career interception against the Dallas Cowboys. It was a screen play thrown by Tony Romo. On October 18, 2010, he picked off Trent Edwards for his second career interception. On December 19, 2010, Verner intercepted Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub for his third pick of his rookie season. Verner played in all 16 games his rookie season, starting 12 of them, and finished with 101 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 1 forced fumble.

He was voted to his first Pro Bowl in 2013.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 11, 2014, Verner signed a four-year, $26.5 million contract including $14 million guaranteed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

NFL stats

Year	Team	GP	COMB	TOTAL	AST	SACK	FF	FR	FR YDS	INT	IR YDS	AVG IR	LNG	TD	PD
2010	TEN	16	101	85	16	0.0	1	2	0	3	41	14	19	0	11
2011	TEN	16	49	43	6	0.0	0	0	0	1	4	4	4	0	8
2012	TEN	16	81	64	17	0.0	1	1	72	2	11	6	11	0	9
2013	TEN	16	57	49	8	0.0	0	2	9	5	68	14	34	1	22
2014	TB	14	76	58	18	0.0	2	0	0	2	26	13	26	0	9
Career		78	364	299	65	0.0	4	5	0	13	150	12	34	1	59

Key

• GP: games played
• COMB: combined tackles
• TOTAL: total tackles
• AST: assisted tackles
• SACK: sacks
• FF: forced fumbles
• FR: fumble recoveries
• FR YDS: fumble return yards
• INT: interceptions
• IR YDS: interception return yards
• AVG IR: average interception return
• LNG: longest interception return
• TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
• PD: passes defensed

External links

• Tennessee Titans bio
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio*