Michael Boulware

Michael Boulware (born September 17, 1981 in Columbia, South Carolina) is a football safety who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State.

Boulware has also played for the Houston Texans in his career. He is the younger brother of former NFL linebacker Peter Boulware.

Early years
Mike graduated 2000 as South Carolina's Gatorade Player of the Year...a versatile athlete who can play both offense and defense...expected to play wide receiver at Florida State...caught 56 passes for 1,028 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed 31 times for 362 yards and three touchdowns on offense as a senior at Spring Valley....as a linebacker, cornerback and safety during senior year he recorded 91 tackles (71 solo), had 17 tackles for loss, six sacks, one interception, three caused fumbles, one fumble recovery for a touchdown and three blocked kicks...a USA Today All-USA honorable mention selection...member of the Orlando Sentinel 's All-South team...an all-state selection in South Carolina as a senior...named High School Sporting Report's South Carolina Player of the Year...member of the South Carolina all-decade team...rated SuperPrep's No. 6 "skill athlete"...listed as the No. 12 prospect (No. 2 linebacker) in the Atlantic Region by PrepStar ...Rivals100.com's No. 33 linebacker nationally...G&W's No. 5 ACC-area prospect...selected to play in the North Carolina-South Carolina Shrine Bowl...reported speed of 4.44 in the 40...younger brother of former Seminole All-American and current Baltimore Raven All-Pro Peter Boulware...chose FSU over Clemson and Georgia Tech.

College career
At Florida State University (FSU) he started every game in 2001 at strongside linebacker, and was an All-America candidate in his senior year.

As a Freshman he was FSU's top tackler on kickoff teams.; he was 21st on the team with 21 tackles. As a Sophomore he ranked 4th in the Atlantic Coast Conference and tied for the team lead with three interceptions. He led the Seminole defense in scoring with two touchdowns, and ranked 4th on the team in tackles with 81. As a Junior he started every game at strongside line-backer. He was a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, and named to the All-ACC second team.

Seattle Seahawks
After college, Boulware went on to play for the Seattle Seahawks defense as a part-time linebacker and strong safety. In his rookie year he had a forced fumble, a sack, fifty-three tackles and most impressively, intercepted five passes, the most interceptions for any rookie ever to play for the Seahawks (until Earl Thomas did it in 2010). The end of his second year proved to be rewarding as the Seahawks played in Super Bowl XL, in which he intercepted a pass from Ben Roethlisberger. On Wednesday, October 25, Mike Holmgren, coach of the Seattle Seahawks, announced Jordan Babineaux would replace Michael Boulware at the free safety position. Mike Holmgren said that Boulware could get his job back later in the season, which he did in the December 24 game against San Diego.

Houston Texans
On September 1, 2007, the Seahawks traded Boulware to the Houston Texans for former first-round pick Jason Babin.

Minnesota Vikings
On March 20, 2008, the Minnesota Vikings signed Boulware to a one-year contract. On August 28, 2008 he suffered a wrist injury and was subsequently placed on IR on August 30, 2008, ending his season.

Family
He has a wife, Jessica who was a pitcher for the Florida State University softball team. She was named an All-American. They were married in 2004. They have a son, Michael Jr. and a daughter, Aspen.

His nephew Tyler Wilson plays international soccer for Puerto Rico.