31 games/5 starts
Became the 5th DE the Vikings have selected in the top 4 rounds of the draft in the past 4 seasons...Was the last Vikings player to sack Brett Farve while he was a Packer…Ranked 3rd among rookies in 2007 with 4.5 sacks, earning a selection to the All-Rookie team.
2008 Had a team-best 7 QB hurries in the Wild Card Playoffs vs. Philadelphia (1/4/09), also registering 2 solo tackles, and a tackle for a loss…Made lone start of season in Wild Card game vs. Philadelphia, replacing injured Ray Edwards at LDE…Notched his second sack and 1st forced fumble of the year when he knocked the ball free from Cardinals QB Kurt Warner @ Arizona (12/14)…Recorded his first sack of 2008 when he pulled down Aaron Rodgers vs. Green Bay (11/9)….Saw action in 15 of the 16 regular season games as All-Pro DE Jared Allen’s primary backup…Sat out with an injury @ Detroit (12/7).
2007 Earned spot on Pro Football Weekly’s All-Rookie Team and started 5 games...Opened the final 4 straight games at RDE and started 1st career game at Detroit (9/16) at LDE...Ranked 3rd in the NFL for sacks among rookies with 4.5...Burst onto the scene with 2.0 sacks in the regular season opener vs. Atlanta (9/9)...Sacked Packers QB Brett Favre (9/30) on the day he broke the NFL TD passes record...Sacked former Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper vs. Oakland (11/18) and forced a fumble that was recovered by LB Chad Greenway...Had 5 tackles at San Francisco (12/9), his season-high.
Etched his name throughout the Texas football and track record books...His 6 career blocked kicks set a UT record and his 4 blocks in 2003 tied a single-season record...2006 NCAA runner-up in shot put as a junior and won Big 12 shot put title in 2005 and 2006...Won Big 12 shot and discus titles in 2006...Holds the school record in the shot put at 68-4.25 and ranks 3rd in UT history with a discus mark of 195-10...Helped Longhorns win 2005 national championship with Rose Bowl win over USC...UT was 44-7 overall and 28-4 in conference play during his 4 years...Earned consensus 2nd-Team All-Big 12 honors as a junior in 2005.
Majored in liberal arts at Texas...Father played collegiate football on the Ranger (TX) Junior College team that won a national title...Wife, Jayme Miller, is an accomplished rodeo barrel racer.