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Ndamukong Suh

Nebraska Cornhuskers — No. 93
Defensive tackle	Senior
Major: Construction management
Date of birth: January 6, 1987 (1987-01-06) (age 23)
Place of birth: Portland, Oregon
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	Weight: 307 lb (139 kg)
Career history
High school: Grant High School, Portland, Oregon
College(s): University of Nebraska (2005–present)
Career highlights and awards
AP Player of the Year (2009) Outland Trophy (2009) Chuck Bednarik Award (2009) Bronko Nagurski Trophy (2009) Lombardi Award (2009) Bill Willis Award (2009) Heisman Trophy Finalist (2009) Consensus First-team All-America (2009) Big-12 Defensive Player of the Year (2009) Big-12 Defensive Lineman of the Year (2009) 2× First-Team All-Big 12 (2008, 2009) MVP Big 12 Championship Game (2009) First-Team Freshman All-Big 12 (2006)
Stats at Rivals.com

Ndamukong Suh (pronounced /ɛnˈdɑːməkɨn ˈsuː/; born January 6, 1987) is an American football defensive tackle for the Nebraska Cornhuskers in his senior year.

Early years

Suh attended Grant High School in Portland, Oregon, where he earned Parade All-America honors and was voted the 2004 Portland Interscholastic League Defensive Player of the Year and the state Class 4A Defensive Player of the Year.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Suh was ranked sixth among defensive tackle prospects in the nation.^[1]

College career

As a true freshman at Nebraska in 2005, Suh played in the first two games and had an assisted tackle against Wake Forest before missing the remainder of the season after undergoing knee surgery. He received a medical redshirt.

In 2006, Suh played in all 14 games as a backup defensive lineman and earned freshman All-Big 12 honors from The Sporting News. Despite coming off the bench, he finished the year with 19 total tackles, and ranked among the team leaders in tackles for loss (8) and quarterback sacks (3½). In his sophomore season, Suh started in 11 of the Cornhuskers' 12 games, and recorded 34 total tackles on the season.

As a junior in 2008, Suh recorded a team-high 76 tackles, 7½ sacks, 19 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions (both returned for touchdowns) and a touchdown reception while playing fullback. He became the first Nebraska defensive lineman to lead the team in tackles since 1973. Suh earned First-team All-Big 12 honors in 2008, the first Nebraska interior defensive lineman to earn those honors since Steve Warren in 1999.

In 2009 Suh registered 82 tackles and 12 quarterback sacks and had 26 quarterback hurries, 23 tackles for loss, 10 pass breakups, three blocked kicks, and one interception, including 12 tackles (seven for losses, a school single-game record) and 4½ sacks in a 13-12 loss to the Texas Longhorns in the Big 12 Championship Game, for which he received game MVP honors. He helped Huskers defense rank first nationally in scoring defense (10.4 ppg), tied for second in total sacks (44), first in pass efficiency defense (87.3), seventh in total defense (272.0 ypg), ninth in rushing defense (93.1 ypg) and 18th in passing defense (178.9 ypg). He also played all four quarters versus Arizona in the 2009 Holiday Bowl, recording the first shutout in the bowl's 32-year history.^[2] He was a consensus First-team All-American and earned consensus First-team All-Big 12 honors and was the Associated Press National Player of the Year, Big-12 Defensive Player of the Year, the Defensive Lineman of the Year, and a Heisman Trophy finalist.

College awards

On December 3, 2009, Suh was named as one of five finalists for the Walter Camp Award. On November 24, 2009, Suh was named one of three finalists for the 2009 Outland Trophy, alongside Mike Iupati and Russell Okung.^[3] On November 10, Suh was selected one of four finalists for the 2009 Lombardi Award, the first Cornhusker to receive this honor since Dominic Raiola in 2000.^[4] In October 2009, Suh was named to The Sporting News and CBS Sports midseason All-American team.^[5][6] Suh began season at No. 3 on Rivals.com′s preseason defensive tackle power ranking.^[7] He was also named to the 2009 Outland Trophy watch list.^[8]

On December 7, 2009, Suh was named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.^[9] Later that evening, Suh was named the 2009 Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner as the top defensive player in the nation.^[10] CBS Sportsline also named Suh their Defensive Player of the Year. The Touchdown Club of Columbus named Suh the winner of the Bill Willis Trophy on December 9, 2009. ^[11] That same evening Suh won the Lombardi Award for the top collegiate lineman or linebacker.^[12] On December 10, at the ESPN College Football Awards show, Suh was selected as the winner of the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation's best defensive player and took home the Outland Trophy for the best interior lineman.^[13] Suh finished fourth in the Heisman race, accumulating 815 points, which is the highest total by a fourth-place finisher for the Heisman in its history.^[14] He was also one of four unanimous selections to the AP First-team All-America in 2009.^[15] Suh was named the 2009 AP Player of Year, becoming the first defensive player to receive the award in its history.^[16]

Career statistics

Professional career

2010 NFL Draft

Suh is widely considered to be one of the best prospects available in the 2010 NFL Draft,^{[17][18][19][20][21]} ESPN.com's draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. describes Suh as "maybe the most dominating defensive tackle I've seen in 32 years" and projects him to go #1 overall to the St. Louis Rams.^[22] Suh is seen as an ideal fit at either defensive tackle in a 4-3 defense or as a defensive end in a 3-4 NFL defense.^[23] To prepare for the NFL Draft and signing Suh signed with Maximum Sports Management, and agent Roosevelt Barnes, will serve as Suh's lead agent. For off the field marketing activities, Suh signed with The Agency Sports Management & Marketing,^[24] where Russ Spielman will serve as lead agent. At the NFL Combine, Suh bench pressed 225 lbs 32 times and had an incredible 35.5 inch vertical leap, the highest for a defensive tackle since 2000. According to Barnes: "He is not a hard worker; he is a relentless worker." ^[25]

Personal

Suh’s mother, Bernadette (née Lennon), was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica and is a graduate of Southern Oregon University, while his father, Michael, hails from Cameroon and played semi-pro soccer in Germany for a few years while working as a machinist. They met and were married in Portland, Oregon in 1982 after he was accepted to a trade school in the area.^[27] In the Ngema tribe in Cameroon, Ndamukong means "House of Spears."^[28]

Suh has three sisters and is the second oldest of the four siblings.^[29] His older sister, Odette Lennon Ngum Suh, played soccer collegiately at Mississippi State University and is currently a midfielder on the Cameroon women's national football team.^[27]

References

External links

• Nebraska Cornhuskers bio