GAMES/STARTS (regular season, playoffs) 2006 (IR), 2007 (16/16), 2008 (16/15, 1/1). Total- 32/31, 1/1. • Led Vikings in 2008 with career-high 150 tackles and ranked 3rd on team with career-high 5.5 sack. • Scored 1st career TD on a 37-yard INT return at NY Giants (11/25/07) on a day the Vikings scored a teamrecord 3 TDs off picks over the eventual Super Bowl champions. • Selected by teammates as the 2007 recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award for his tireless rehab from knee injury suffered as a rookie. OFF THE FIELD Active member of the Twin Cities community and a year-round resident...Recognized by teammates as the 2007 winner of the Ed Block Courage Award for his dedication to coming back from season-ending knee injury as a rookie...Graduated with a degree in communication studies from Iowa…Married in July 2006 to Jennifer Capista, a former track and field athlete at Iowa…Couple had a daughter, Madyn, in summer 2007..Joined his wife and members of the Vikings Women’s Organization in hosting the annual Vikings Gridiron Gallop 5K fun run on Father’s Day...Grew up on a hog and crop farm in tiny Mount Vernon, SD, which has a population under 500…Played 9-man football in high school…Joins fellow LB Ben Leber as products of South Dakota and the only 2 natives of the state that start in the NFL and 2 of only 4 South Dakotans in the League. PRO Building on solid reputation as a player with a nose for the ball by leading team in tackles in 2008 with 150 and ranking 3rd in sacks with 5.5...Emerged as a defensive play-maker in 2007, leading the Vikings with 6 takeaways (4 FRS, 2 INTs), a TD and ranking 2nd on the team with 130 tackles…Tied for NFL lead with 4 FRs in 2007...Scored 1st career TD on a 37-yard INT return at NY Giants (11/25/07), part of a record-setting day against Giants as the Vikings returned 3 INTs for TDs...Helped Vikings tie team record with 6 INT-return TDs in 2007, matching the mark of the 1992 team...Helped Vikings rank #1 in the NFL against the run in 2007 and 2008...Is the only Iowa LB ever selected in the 1st round of the NFL Draft and only the 6th LB taken by the Vikings in the 1st round in team history…Joins fellow Vikings’ LB Ben Leber (Vermillion) and K Taylor Mehlhaff (Aberdeen) and Colts’ K Adam Vinatieri (Rapid City) as the only current players in the NFL from South Dakota…Selected with the 17th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft and was the 3rd LB taken, behind only A.J. Hawk and Ernie Sims. 2008 Had breakout season in his 2nd year on the field, leading the team in tackles with 150 posting the 4th-best total by a Vikings LB in team history with 5.5 sacks...Key part of the Vikings ranking #1 in the NFL against the run for the 3rd straight season, a feat not accomplished by an NFL team since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger...Helped Vikings rank #6 in the NFL in total defense, the highest rank since 1994...Notched career-high 17 tackles at Tampa Bay (11/16)...Had sacks in 3 straight games...Had 10+ tackles in 6 games...Led team with 10 tackles in Wild Card playoff game vs. Philadelphia (1/4/09). 2007 Bounced back from knee injury that cost him his rookie year to lead the team in takeaways with 6, led the team with 4 FFs and finished 2nd in tackles with 130...Part of record-setting defensive effort that matched the Vikings record with 6 INT-return TDs and posted team-best 3 INT-return TDs in a game at NY Giants (11/25), joining Darren Sharper and Dwight Smith in scoring on returns during the game...The 3 INT-return TDs tied for the 2nd-most in an NFL game...Scored 1st career TD on a 37-yard INT return at NY Giants (11/25) off Eli Manning, his 2nd straight week with an INT after picking former Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper the week before vs. Oakland (11/18)...Had an INT and FR vs. Oakland (11/18), picking up a Culpepper fumble...Helped Vikings lead NFL in rushing defense. 2006 Suffered torn ACL in left knee on kickoff coverage in the preseason opener vs. Oakland (8/14)…Placed on injured reserve on 8/17, ending his rookie season. COLLEGE Two-time All-Big 10 selection who finished his career ranked 5th in school history with 416 tackles…Started 38 of the 45 games he played in and recorded 10+ tackles in a game 25 times…Earned 1st-team All-America honors from Pro Football Weekly and 2nd-team honors from The NFL Draft Report and CNNSI.com as a senior…Iowa’s Co-MVP as a senior…His 156 tackles as a senior in ’05 rank 3rd in school history…Earned 2nd-team All-Big 10 honors as a sophomore…Redshirted as a true freshman in 2001. PREP A 1st-team All-State selection as a junior and seniorr and 3rd-team as a sophomore at Mount Vernon (SD) High...Played 9-man football in high school…Led team to back-to-back state titles as a QB and FS…Named Gatorade Player of the Year, Argus Leader and Sports Max Player of the Year…Team captain in football for 3 straight years…Also lettered in basketball, baseball, and track…Won 4 events at the 2000 state track meet, including the triple jump.