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Geno Atkins
File:Geno Atkins.JPG
Atkins in the 2011 NFL season.
No. 97     Cincinnati Bengals
Defensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: (1988-03-28) March 28, 1988 (age 35)
Place of birth: Pembroke Pines, Florida
High School: Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Aquinas
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 300 lb (136 kg)
Career information
College: Georgia
NFL Draft: 2010 / Round: 4 / Pick: 120
Debuted in 2010 for the Cincinnati Bengals
Career history
* Cincinnati Bengals ( 2010–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
* First-team All-SEC (2007)
Career NFL statistics as of 2012
Tackles     116
Quarterback sacks     23.0
Interceptions     0
Forced fumbles     6
Stats at NFL.com

Gene Renard Atkins Jr. (born March 28, 1988) is an American football defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Georgia. He was drafted by the Bengals in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Early years[]

Atkins was born in Pembroke Pines, Florida on March 28, 1988. He attended St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale helped the school be the Class AAAAA runner-ups in both 2004 and 2005. As a junior at St. Thomas Aquinas in 2004, Atkins had 70 tackles (12 resulted in lost yardage), one interception, and four fumble recoveries. In 2005, during his senior season, he had 117 tackles, 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. Following the season, he was named First-team All-County by the Sun-Sentinel and Miami Herald, First-team Class AAAAA in the state of Florida and was also named Florida Class AAAAA Defensive player of the year. Coming out of high school he was rated as the 24th best defensive end in the nation by Rivals.com and 41st best by Scout.com.[1]

College career[]

Atkins played for the Georgia Bulldogs as a true freshman, recording nine tackles and 0.5 sacks in 11 games.[1]

In 2007, Atkins saw significant playing time as a backup behind Kade Weston and Jeff Owens.[2][3] On September 21, Owens said of Atkins's impact, "Geno is doing a heck of a job. He's contributing a lot to the defense. He's leading the defensive line in tackles for loss and I think we're tied in tackles."[4] As of September 29, despite being a backup, Atkins was fourth in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) with six tackles for losses along with a sack.[5] On October 6, Atkins was named the starter over Weston[6] and in only his second game led the team in tackles against Vanderbilt.[7] He became the first defensive tackle to lead the team in tackles in a game since Jason Ferguson did it in 1995 and the first defensive lineman since David Pollack in 2003.[8] Following a game against Kentucky in which he had five tackles, he was named SEC defensive player of the week for the week of November 17.[1][9] Following, his sophomore season Atkins was named First-team All-SEC, and was the only player for Georgia other than running back Knowshon Moreno to be named to the team.[10] During the press conference for Hawaii's quarterback Colt Brennan before the Sugar Bowl, Atkins asked for an autograph and took a photo with Brennan. Fellow Georgia defensive lineman Marcus Howard said of Atkins' antics during the press conference, "He was like acting like a groupie. All of us gave him grief for that."[11] Despite getting Brennan's autograph before the game, Atkins sacked him in the fourth quarter, forcing him out of the game.[12]

Two games into the 2008 season, Atkins already had eight tackles and nine quarterback hurries.[13] After the defense as a whole sacked Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow of Florida six times, Atkins said, "I think we rattled Tim Tebow and the offense. We wanted to pressure him. No one really works that well under pressure, not even the greatest quarterbacks. You put a little pressure on them, they're bound to flinch."[14] On November 14 against Auburn, Atkins came in on offense and was the lead blocker for Matthew Stafford on a quarterback sneak.[15] In the Capital One Bowl on January 2, 2009, against Michigan State, Atkins had one tackle and two quarterback hurries.[16]

In 2009, Atkins was listed at No. 5 on Rivals.com′s preseason defensive tackle power ranking.[17] He was also named to the 2009 Outland Trophy watch list.[18]

Professional career[]

Cincinnati Bengals[]

Atkins was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round (120th overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft.

In his second season, Atkins became a full time starter and led the team in sacks with 7.5, assisting the team to a 9-7 record and a playoff appearance. In the 2011 season he was tied for amount of sacks for a defensive tackle with Oakland's Tommy Kelly. Atkins was named to his first Pro Bowl in his second season as a starter after Vince Wilfork withdrew to participate in the Super Bowl.

In 2012, Atkins recorded 53 tackles, forced 4 fumbles, set a franchise record with 12.5 sacks, and was selected at a starter in the pro bowl as the Bengals made the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Personal[]

During his freshman year at the University of Georgia, Atkins learned he suffers from Sickle cell trait.[19] He is also the son of former New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins safety Gene Atkins.[20]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "#56 Geno Atkins". University of Georgia. http://www.georgiadogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=40675&SPID=3571&DB_OEM_ID=8800&ATCLID=296342&Q_SEASON=2009. Retrieved 2009-08-09.[dead link]
  2. "Georgia keeping all five DTs fresh". Associated Press (Sporting News). September 13, 2007. http://www.sportingnews.com/college-football/article/2007-09-13/georgia-keeping-all-five-dts-fresh. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  3. Weiszer, Marc (September 27, 2007). "UGA Football: Changing of the guard". Online Athens. http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/092807/football_20070928047.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  4. Butt, Jason (September 21, 2007). "Unheralded Atkins contributes to Georgia defense". Redandblack.com. http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2007/09/21/FirstGoal/Unheralded.Atkins.Contributes.To.Georgia.Defense-2982423.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  5. "Georgia notes". Online Athens. September 29, 2007. http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/092907/football_20070929004.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  6. "Game breakdown: Who has the edge?". Online Athens. October 6, 2007. http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/100607/football_20071006004.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  7. Kendall, Josh (October 14, 2007). "Bulldogs escape with win, look for turnaround". Macon Telegraph. http://www.macon.com/367/story/160463.html. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  8. Weiszer, Marc (October 26, 2007). "Atkins still coming out of his shell". Online Athens. http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/102607/football_20071026064.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  9. "Curran and Atkins earn honors". Scout.com. November 19, 2007. http://georgia.scout.com/a.z?s=135&p=2&c=703381. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  10. "Tebow, Dorsey players of year on AP All-SEC team". Associated Press (Sporting News). December 5, 2007. http://www.sportingnews.com/college-football/article/2007-12-05/tebow-dorsey-players-year-ap-all-sec-team. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  11. Weiszer, Marc (December 29, 2007). "Atkins acts like a 'groupie' around Hawaii's Brennan". Online Athens. http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/123007/football_20071230064.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  12. "Clarkson: Georgia brings Hawaii's great season to ugly end". Online Athens. January 3, 2008. http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/010308/football_20080103056.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  13. "Bulldogs open SEC play in Columbia against Gamecocks". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. September 10, 2008. http://www.seattlepi.com/scorecard/cfootballnews.asp?articleID=173989. Retrieved 2009-08-10.[dead link]
  14. "SEC stars Tebow, Moreno key Florida, Georgia". Associated Press (ESPN.com). October 29, 2008. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3671559&type=story. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  15. Butt, Jason (November 14, 2008). "Missed extra point a deciding factor". Redandblack.com. http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2008/11/14/Sports/Missed.Extra.Point.A.Deciding.Factor-3545590.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  16. Bernstein, Charlie (January 2, 2009). "Talent on Display in Orlando". Scout.com. http://southcarolina.scout.com/a.z?s=184&p=2&c=826682. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  17. Buchanan, Olin; Dienhart, Tom; Fox, David; Huguenin, Mike; Megargee, Steve (August 24, 2009). "Preseason defensive tackle power rankings". Rivals.com. http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=978954
  18. Richardson, Steve (August 11, 2009). 2009 Outland Trophy Watch List Announced. Football Writers Association of America. http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/news/2009/outland090811.html
  19. http://www.cdc.gov/Features/SickleGenoAtkins/?s_cid=tw_cdc1423
  20. http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/112809/foo_529578681.shtml

External links[]

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