Chad Greenway

Games and Starts

32 games/31 starts

Professional Biography

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 playmaker 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 Vikigns 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.

NFL History

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 straigh 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 INTreturn 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 forced by DE Brian Robison...Had 10+ tackles in 5 games during the season, including 14 at Kansas City (9/23)....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 Information

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…Helped Iowa to Outback Bowls after sophomore and senior seasons against Florida and Capital One Bowl against LSU as a junior…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 and won the Hayden Fry “Extra Heartbeat” Award as a senior…His 156 tackles as a senior in ’05 rank 3rd in school history…Named 1st-team All-America by Pro Football Weekly and earned 2nd-team All-America honors from CNNSI.com as a junior…Earned 2nd-team All-Big 10 honors as a sophomore…Played in 8 games as a redshirt freshman in 2002…Redshirted as a true freshman in 2001.

2005 Earned 1^st-team All-America honors from Pro Football Weekly and added 2^nd-team honors from The NFL Draft Report and CNNSI.com…Team’s Co-MVP and won the Hayden Fry “Extra Heartbeat” Award...Named 1^st-team Big 10 by the conference’s coaches and media…Semi-finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Defensive Player of the Year Award and semi-finalist for Butkus Award…Ranked 4^th in the nation with an average of 13.0 tackles per game and was 2^nd on the team with a career-high 156 tackles, the 3^rd-best season in school history…Posted 10 games of double-digit tackles on the season…Named Big Ten Conference Player of the Week after he posted a career-high 20 tackles vs. Northern Iowa…Recorded 14 tackles at Ohio State…Tied his career-high with 20 tackles at Illinois and also posted 2.0 sacks and a pass defensed…Recorded 14 tackles and 3 tackles for loss vs. Indiana…Registered 16 tackles vs. Michigan and added a tackle for loss...Posted 12 tackles and a tackle for loss at Wisconsin…Made 15 tackles vs. Minnesota as the Hawkeyes held the top rushing team in the nation to 129 net rushing yards…Added an interception and a 16-yard return to set up an Iowa score against the Gophers…Posted 9 tackles and 2 passes defensed in Outback Bowl vs. Florida.

2004 Named 1^st-Team All-American by Pro Football Weekly and was a 1^st-team All-Big Ten choice…Earned 2^nd-team All-American honors from CNNSI.com and was named team’s Special Teams Player of the Year…Started in all 12 games…Ranked 2^nd on the team and 7^th in the Big Ten with 113 tackles and tied for 9^th in the conference with 3 interceptions…Had seven 10+ tackle games on the season…Named national Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in season opener vs. Kent State…Led team with 10 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and recorded first 2 interceptions of his career…Returned the second pick 30 yards for his 1^st career TD in the fourth quarter…Also blocked a Kent State field goal that led to an Iowa FG…Posted 10 tackles and a tackle for loss in win vs. Iowa State as the Hawkeyes held ISU to 66 rushing yards…Registered a career-high 2.0 sacks at Michigan and led team with 10 tackles…Recorded 11 tackles at Penn State as the defense allowed no offensive points by the Nittany Lions and held them to 147 yards of total offense…Posted 8 tackles and his 3^rd INT of the season in win at Minnesota…Had 10 tackles, a forced fumble and a sack in win vs. Wisconsin to clinch share of Big Ten title…Recorded 9 tackles and a tackle for loss in Capital One Bowl win over LSU.

2003 Started all 13 games and earned 2^nd-team All-Big Ten honors…Finished 3^rd in the Big Ten in tackles per game (10.2) as he finished with 132 tackles on the season…Led team with 13 tackles in season opener against Miami (OH) as they held them to 54 yards rushing and without a TD for the first time since 1993…Posted 17 tackles in win at Iowa State…Recorded 17 tackles win vs. Arizona State to earn Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors…Had 10 tackles and 3 tackles for loss at Ohio State…Led team with 11 tackles vs. Penn State and added 2 tackles for loss and a QB sack…Recorded 1^st blocked punt of his career in the 3^rd quarter against the Nittany Lions, which resulted in an Iowa touchdown…Posted 10 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and a sack vs. Minnesota…Registered 11 tackles and a tackle for loss at Wisconsin…Recorded 4 tackles in Outback Bowl win over Florida.

2002 Played in 8 games as a redshirt freshman

Personal Biography

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, Maddyn, 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.