Deshea Townsend

Deshea Townsend
refer to caption
Townsend (left) with the Steelers in 2007
New York Giants
Position: Assistant defensive backs coach
Personal information
Born: (1975-09-08) September 8, 1975
Batesville, Mississippi
Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight: 183 lb (83 kg)
Career information
High school: South Panola
(Batesville, Mississippi)
College: Alabama
NFL Draft: 1998 / Round: 4 / Pick: 117
Career history
As player:
As coach:
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles: 449
Sacks: 15.5
Forced fumbles: 5
Fumble recoveries: 3
Interceptions: 21
Defensive touchdowns: 3
Player stats at NFL.com

Trevor Deshea Townsend (born September 8, 1975) is a former cornerback in the National Football League (NFL), and is currently the assistant defensive backs coach for the New York Giants. Formerly he served as an assistant defensive backs coach for the Arizona Cardinals. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round (117th overall) in the 1998 NFL Draft, and also played a season with the Indianapolis Colts.

Early years

A native of Batesville, Mississippi, Deshea played high school football for the South Panola Tigers, where he was the teammate of fellow future Alabama Crimson Tide star Dwayne Rudd. Townsend played quarterback at South Panola and led the team to the 1993 Mississippi State 5A championship and an undefeated 15-0 record.

College career

Along with Rudd, Townsend continued his career in college at the University of Alabama where both became members of the Theta Delta Chapter of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, in 1995. He majored in business management.

Professional career

Townsend (#26) making a tackle in 2005

Townsend grew from a special teams player and nickel back (and initially known in Pittsburgh as the first player to wear Rod Woodson's number 26 after he left the Steelers, a number now worn by Pro Bowl running back Le'Veon Bell) into a solid starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers at cornerback. Townsend was known for his outside speed as a pass rusher. Townsend has recorded 322 tackles, 15.5 quarterback sacks and 18 interceptions during his ten years as a Steeler. He also had a key sack on Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck during the final minutes of Super Bowl XL, which helped secure the Steelers eventual victory. He was re-signed by the Steelers as an unrestricted free agent in March 2006.

During the 2008 season, Townsend accepted the reduced role from starting cornerback to the nickel package.

In August 2010, Townsend joined the Indianapolis Colts.[1] On November 9 2010, he was waived by the Colts.[2] For the season, Townsend played in eight Colts games with no starts, and totaled 10 tackles and no interceptions or sacks.[3]

Coaching career

In February 2011, Townsend was hired as assistant defensive backs coach of the Arizona Cardinals, joining former coach Ray Horton.[4]

In January 2013, Townsend was hired as cornerbacks coach at Mississippi State University.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Hayes, Reggie (August 8, 2010). "Townsend saddles up with Colts". The News-Sentinel.
  2. ↑ http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/40096580/ns/sports-player_news/
  3. ↑ http://www.nfl.com/players/desheatownsend/profile?id=TOW776442
  4. ↑ "Cardinals hire former Steeler Townsend as coach". February 10, 2011. Archived from the original on February 13, 2011.
  5. ↑ http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20130111/SPORTS030102/130111006/MSU-cornerbacks-coach-candidate-Deshea-Townsend-s-official-
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