Lavonte David

Lavonte David (born January 23, 1990) is an American football linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL).

High school career
A native of Miami, Florida, David attended Northwestern High School, where he was a teammate of Marcus Forston, Anthony Gaitor, Jacory Harris, Sean Spence, Tommy Streeter, and Brandon Washington. Northwestern won back-to-back state titles in 2006 and 2007, and was listed as mythical national champions by USA Today in 2007. Regarded as only a two-star prospect by Rivals.com, David was not highly recruited.

College career
David originally signed with Middle Tennessee State, but then decided to attend Fort Scott Community College. In 2010, he transferred to Nebraska, where he set the school's single-season record for tackles with 152. At the conclusion of the 2011 season, he was named First Team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media. He was also the winner of the inaugural Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year, awarded to the best linebacker in the Big Ten.

2012 NFL Draft
Projected to be a second-to-third round selection by Sports Illustrated, David was graded as the No. 10 outside linebacker available in the 2012 NFL Draft. He was described as a "terrific football player with a complete game, but [with] size limitations." David was eventually selected in Round 2 (58th overall) by the Buccaneers. He was the highest selected Cornhuskers linebacker since Barrett Ruud in 2005.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
As a rookie, David started all 16 games at outside linebacker for the Buccaneers in 2012. He registered a team-leading 139 tackles, which tied London Fletcher and Paul Posluszny for eighth in the league. In week 9 at Oakland, David amassed a season-high 16 tackles, including 14 solo. He was named Defensive Rookie of the Month of November. David also posted 20 tackles-for-loss, the most by a rookie since Kendrell Bell in 2001.