- DeMeco Ryans
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DeMeco Ryans
Ryans during training camp, 2010No. 59 Houston Texans Linebacker Personal information Date of birth: July 28, 1984 Place of birth: Bessemer, Alabama Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 247 lb (112 kg) Career information College: Alabama NFL Draft: 2006 / Round: 2 / Pick: 33 Debuted in 2006 for the Houston Texans Career history - Houston Texans (2006–present)
Career highlights and awards - AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (2006)
- PFWA Defensive Rookie of the Year (2006)
- 2× Pro Bowl selection (2007, 2009)
- 1× All-Pro selection (2007)
- College awards and honors
Career NFL statistics as of 2010 Tackles 572 Sacks 8.5 INTs 2 Stats at NFL.com DeMeco Ryans (pronounced /dɨˈmiːkoʊ/; born July 28, 1984 in Bessemer, Alabama) is an American football linebacker in the NFL for the Houston Texans. He played college football at the University of Alabama.
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High school career
Ryans attended Jess Lanier High School in Bessemer, Alabama, where he was coached by Willie T. Ford. In his senior season, he had over 135 tackles, 11 sacks, two caused fumbles and two interceptions.
Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Ryans was listed as the No. 39 inside linebacker prospect in the nation from the class of 2002.[1] He picked Alabama over Mississippi State.
College career
Ryans played outside linebacker at the University of Alabama. Ryans started out his career by earning a role on special teams and back up linebacker in his first season. By making great improvements every year in his college career, Ryans went on to become the SEC's Defensive Player of the Year for his performance in 2005. Later on, Ryans attributed much of his college success to his defensive coordinator at Alabama, Joe Kines. He was named the 2006 Cotton Bowl Classic defensive MVP in their 13-10 win over Texas Tech. Ryans also received the 2005 Lott Trophy for his combination of athletic excellence and off-the-field achievements.
College awards and honors
- 2006 NCAA Top Eight Award (Class of 2006)
- 2006 Cotton Bowl Classic – Defensive MVP
- 2005 Consensus All-America
- 2005 SEC – Defensive Player of the Year
- 2005 First Team All-SEC
- 2005 Lott Trophy
- 2005 Bednarik Trophy Semifinalist
- 2005 Butkus Award Finalist
- 2005 Draddy Award Finalist
- 2005 Nagurski Award Finalist
- 2005 Lombardi Award Semifinalist
Professional career
2006 NFL Draft
Ryans was selected with the first pick of the 2nd round (33rd overall) in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Texans.
Pre-draft measureables Ht Wt 40-yard dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20 ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP Wonderlic 6-1¼ * 236 lb * 4.65 * 1.64 * 2.74 * 4.18 * 7.19 * 39 in * 10′9″ * 23 * (* represents NFL Combine)
Houston Texans
Ryans began his NFL career in 2006 with the Houston Texans. Though he had been an outside linebacker in college, he earned the starting middle linebacker position due to his excellent performance in the preseason. In his first game he recorded a league-high 12 solo tackles. Ryans had an overwhelming impact as a rookie linebacker for the Texans, leading the team in tackles in the first half of the 2006 season. Many Texans fans began nicknaming him “D-Wreck” for his toughness and hard hits; another popular nickname is D-ROY, intended to promote Ryans for the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Today, most fans refer to him affectionately as "Cap'n Meco," due to his status as a Texans team Captain and in reverence of his tremendous professionalism and leadership both on and off the field.
On January 3, 2007, Ryans was awarded the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award after finishing second in the league with 155 total tackles (Zach Thomas 165), 31 more tackles than the next rookie (Detroit Lions linebacker Ernie Sims). He received 36 of 50 votes by a nationwide panel of sports writers and broadcasters. Chicago Bears defensive end Mark Anderson, who was Ryan's teammate at Alabama, finished second with five votes. On December 18, 2007 DeMeco Ryans was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time. Ryans wore the Texans' defensive transmitter to relay plays from the sideline into the huddle. This meant he was an every down player.[2] On March 30, 2010, Ryans signed a 6 year $48 million extension, including $21.75 million guaranteed.
Career statistics
Season Team GP–GS Tackles Interceptions Fumbles Total Solo Ast Sack Safety Pass Def. Int Yards Avg Long TD Forced 2006^ Houston Texans 16–16 156 126 30 3.5 0 5 1 16 16.0 16 0 1 2007†‡ 16–16 128 99 29 2.0 0 7 1 1 1.0 1 0 1 2008 16–16 112 86 26 1.0 0 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 2009† 16–16 123 93 30 1.0 0 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 Career Total 519 404 115 7.5 0 18 2 17 8.5 16 0 5 ^ Named Rookie of the Year.
† Named to the Pro Bowl.
‡ Named to the All-Pro team.References
External links
Awards and achievements Preceded by
Shawne MerrimanAP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
2006Succeeded by
Patrick Willis2005 College Football All-America Team consensus selections Offense QB Vince Young | RB Reggie Bush | RB Jerome Harrison | WR Dwayne Jarrett | WR Jeff Samardzija | TE Marcedes Lewis
OL Jonathan Scott | OL Marcus McNeill | OL Max Jean-Gilles | OL Taitusi Lutui | C Greg EslingerDefense DL Elvis Dumervil | DL Tamba Hali | DL Haloti Ngata | DL Rodrique Wright
LB A. J. Hawk | LB DeMeco Ryans | LB Paul Posluszny
DB Jimmy Williams | DB Michael Huff | DB Greg Blue | DB Tye HillSpecial teams Lott Trophy winners 2004: Pollack | 2005: Ryans | 2006: D. Hughes | 2007: Dorsey | 2008: Laurinaitis | 2009: J. Hughes | 2010: Watt
NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award from the Associated Press 1967: Barney · 1968: Humphrey · 1969: Greene · 1970: B. Taylor · 1971: Robertson · 1972: Buchanon · 1973: Chambers · 1974: Lambert · 1975: Brazile · 1976: Haynes · 1977: Duhe · 1978: Baker · 1979: Haslett · 1980: Curry & Richardson · 1981: L. Taylor · 1982: Banks · 1983: Maxwell · 1984: Maas · 1985: Bickett · 1986: O'Neal · 1987: Conlan · 1988: McMillan · 1989: Thomas · 1990: Carrier · 1991: Croel · 1992: Carter · 1993: Stubblefield · 1994: Bowens · 1995: Douglas · 1996: Rice · 1997: Boulware · 1998: Woodson · 1999: Kearse · 2000: Urlacher · 2001: Bell · 2002: Peppers · 2003: Suggs · 2004: Vilma · 2005: Merriman · 2006: Ryans · 2007: Willis · 2008: Mayo · 2009: Cushing · 2010: Suh2008 Pro Bowl AFC starters Offense QB Tom Brady | RB LaDainian Tomlinson | FB Lorenzo Neal | WR Randy Moss | WR Reggie Wayne | TE Antonio Gates
OT Matt Light | OT Jason Peters | G Alan Faneca | G Logan Mankins | C Jeff SaturdayDefense DE Jared Allen | DE Kyle Vanden Bosch | DT Albert Haynesworth | DT Vince Wilfork
OLB James Harrison | OLB Mike Vrabel | ILB DeMeco Ryans
CB Champ Bailey | CB Asante Samuel | FS Ed Reed | SS Bob SandersSpecial Teams Houston Texans 2006 NFL Draft selections Mario Williams • DeMeco Ryans • Charles Spencer • Eric Winston • Owen Daniels • Wali Lundy • David AndersonCategories:- American football linebackers
- American football middle linebackers
- Alabama Crimson Tide football players
- Houston Texans players
- National Football League Defensive Rookie of the Year Award winners
- American Conference Pro Bowl players
- 1984 births
- Living people
- People from Bessemer, Alabama
- Players of American football from Alabama
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