Whitney Mercilus

Whitney Mercilus
Whitney Mercilus
Mercilus with the Houston Texans in 2012
No. 59 – Houston Texans
Position: Outside linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1990-07-21) July 21, 1990
Akron, Ohio
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight: 265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High school: Akron (OH) Garfield
College: Illinois
NFL Draft: 2012 / Round: 1 / Pick: 26
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 2, 2018
Total tackles: 242
Sacks: 38.5
Forced fumbles: 7
Fumble recoveries: 6
Interceptions: 0
Player stats at NFL.com

Whitney Mercilus (born July 21, 1990) is an American football outside linebacker for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Illinois and was recognized as a unanimous All-American. He was selected by the Texans in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and was considered one of the best defensive end prospects for 2012.[1]

Early years

Mercilus is of Haitian descent,[2] and was born in Akron, Ohio. He attended Garfield High School in Akron, where he played high school football for the Garfield High School Rams. He was considered a three-star defensive end prospect by the Rivals.com recruiting service.[3]

College career

Mercilus attended the University of Illinois, where he played for head coach Ron Zook's Illinois Fighting Illini football team from 2009 to 2011. He broke out during his junior season in 2011, leading the country in quarterback sacks (16) and forced fumbles (9) while primarily playing at the defensive end position.[4] At the conclusion of the 2011 season, Mercilus was a first-team All-Big Ten selection by both the coaches and media.[5] He won the 2011 Ted Hendricks Award, 2011 Bill Willis Award, and 2011 CFPA Defensive Performer of the Year, in addition to being recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American.[6]

Professional career

Mercilus entered the 2012 NFL Draft where he was drafted by the Houston Texans in the first round with the 26th overall pick.[7][8] He was the highest selected Illinois defensive lineman since Simeon Rice was drafted third overall by the Arizona Cardinals in 1996. Mercilus transitioned into a 3–4 outside linebacker under defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert jump Broad BP
6 ft 3 5⁄8 in
(1.92 m)		 261 lb
(118 kg)		 33 7⁄8 in
(0.86 m)		 9 1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		 4.68 s 1.58 s 2.69 s 4.53 s 7.17 s 32 in
(0.81 m)		 9 ft 10 in
(3.00 m)		 27 reps
All values from NFL Combine[9]

2012 season

On June 14, 2012, Mercilus and the Texans agreed to a four-year, $7.634 million contract with a team option for a fifth year.[10]

Through the first six games of the season, Mercilus mostly saw work on special teams. In Week 7 against the Baltimore Ravens, Mercilus was used more on defense in a rotation with starting outside linebackers Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed. In the game, Mercilus recorded his first career sack against quarterback Joe Flacco, also forcing a fumble on the play. He also tipped a pass leading to an interception.

Mercilus made his first career start in place of an injured Brooks Reed in Week 13 against their AFC South rival Tennessee Titans. Mercilus sacked quarterback Jake Locker twice in the game.

2013 season

For the 2013 season, Mercilus had 47 tackles, seven sacks, 18 quarterback hits, and two stuffs. Houston's defensive DVOA dropped from -14.2% (4th) to 2.9% (18th). Their pass defense DVOA went from -12.4% (4th) to 15.9% (24th) and their sack rate fell from 7.3% (6th) to 6.7% (18th). The defense went from great to mediocre in the span of one year. The Texans' 2013 season was one to forget as they lost 14 games in a row after a 2-0 start and finished last only to select first in the upcoming draft. The pick would be used on Jadeveon Clowney, who would compliment Mercilus on the defense.

2014 season

While Mercilus's production regressed under new defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel's system, he still made a name for himself in Houston Texans franchise history. With his first sack of the season, in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Mercilus surpassed Kailee Wong to move into fifth place on the franchise’s all-time sacks list. "I really can't say enough about Whitney Mercilus," head coach Bill O'Brien said after the game. "I mean, he practices every snap in practice. He takes some scout team reps because we were a little bit thin at linebacker. Then, he goes in the game and he's played better and better every game. He's a great guy, a really good teammate, a hardworking guy. He's just played really well for us this year and I think that was what I saw out there from the sideline." Mercilus ended the 2014 season with 31 combined tackles and five sacks.

2015 season

On May 4, 2015, Mercilus signed a four-year, $26 million contract extension with $10.5 million guaranteed.[11] Mercilus helped the Texans win an unexpected AFC South division title by setting career highs in tackles with 52 and sacks with twelve and a half. Mercilus's season would end against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card Round as the Texans were shut out 30-0.

2016 season

Mercilus would put together a solid campaign in the 2016 season. In 15 games, he would record 53 combined tackles, of which 36 were solo, 7.5 sacks, one pass defensed, and one forced fumble. He would record three sacks in the postseason to go along with 11 tackles and one pass defensed.[12] Mercilus was awarded Second Team All Pro 2016 in recognition of his successful 2016 season. In the Texans' Wild Card Round playoff game against the Oakland Raiders, Mercilus sacked quarterback Connor Cook twice.

2017 season

In Week 5 against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football, Mercilus suffered a torn pectoral and was ruled out for the rest of the 2017 season.[13] He was placed on injured reserve on October 11, 2017.[14] He finished the season with 10 tackles, one sack, and a forced fumble.

References

  1. ↑ NFL Draft Scout
  2. ↑ "NFL draft: Texans take Illinois DE Whitney Mercilus at No. 26". Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Rivals.com Recruiting Profile
  4. ↑ NCAA Division I-A Player Defense Statistics - 2011
  5. ↑ "Complete All-Big Ten football teams". Detroit Free Press. November 29, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
  6. ↑ http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121511aaa.html
  7. ↑ Illinois Whitney Mercilus shooting up draft boards
  8. ↑ "NFL Draft coming into focus". Fox News. March 6, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Whitney Mercilus Combine Profile", NFL.com, retrieved March 26, 2012
  10. ↑ "Texans Whitney Mercilus cintract update".
  11. ↑ Rosenthal, Gregg (May 4, 2015). "Texans reward Whitney Mercilus with $26M extension". NFL.com. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Whitney Mercilus: Game Logs". NFL.com. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  13. ↑ Bergman, Jeremy (October 9, 2017). "Whitney Mercilus out for season with torn pectoral". NFL.com.
  14. ↑ "TRANSACTIONS: Texans place Watt, Mercilus on IR". HoustonTexans.com. October 11, 2017.
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