Sergio Kindle

Kindle was coached by Bobby Estes at Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, Texas. Playing offense and defense, he excelled at running back and linebacker, rushing for 5,627 yards and 86 touchdowns.

Kindle was also the only player in Texas to boast all-state honors on both offense and defense in 2005. He was also named first-team All-American by USA Today as well as a PARADE All-America selection and Parade Player of the Year finalist. After his senior season, Kindle was invited to play in the 2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Regarded as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Kindle was ranked as the No. 1 inside linebacker prospect in the class of 2006.^[1] and was considered the best linebacker prospect from the Dallas area since Dallas Carter's Jessie Armstead in 1989.^[2]

Kindle also played basketball as Woodrow Wilson High's starting center in addition to running the 400m, 4×400-meter relay and competing in the long jump.

After missing the first two games of the 2006 Longhorn football season with an ankle injury, Kindle appeared in 11 games at strongside linebacker and on special teams. He registered 21 tackles, three tackles for losses and ranked third on the team in special teams tackles with eight.

Over the summer prior to the 2007 season, Kindle and his teammate Henry Melton were arrested in separate incidents on charges of driving while intoxicated.^[3][4][5] Both players were suspended from the first three games of the season, were also required to perform community service and missed the first two days of practice in order to visit with a woman whose son was crippled by a drunk driver.^[6]

In his junior season, Kindle started 11 of the 13 games he appeared in, playing linebacker, defensive end and on special teams. He posted 53 tackles, 10 sacks, 14 TFL, 15 pressures, two PBU, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. His performances helped the Longhorns defense rank first in the Big 12 and 18th nationally in terms of points per game and earned Kindle a 2008 All-American honorable mention by Sports Illustrated, as well as first-team All-Big 12 honors by the league's coaches, Austin American-Statesman, Kansas City Star and San Antonio Express-News and second-team All-Big 12 honors by Associated Press, Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Waco Tribune-Herald.

For the 2009 season, Kindle was moved to the defensive end position, replacing Brian Orakpo who was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the 2009 NFL draft. He was named to the watch lists for the Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award and Hendricks Award. During the regular season, Kindle compiled 47 tackles, 3 sacks, 17 TFLs, and 31 QB Hurries.

In the 2010 BCS National Championship Game versus Alabama, Kindle recorded 6 solo tackles and 2.5 sacks.^[7]

In a poll conducted by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel among 17 NFL scouts, Kindle was voted first among 3–4 outside linebackers, capturing 11 first-place votes (comparing to four firsts for the second-placed Jerry Hughes).^[8]

Although deemed a first-round talent by most analysts, many teams were scared off by Kindle's often-injured knee and his off-the-field incidents.^[10] Kindle fell into the second round and was ultimately drafted 43rd overall by the Baltimore Ravens,^[11][12] using one of the three picks the Ravens acquired by trading their first-round pick (25th overall) to the Denver Broncos (who selected Tim Tebow).^[13] Kindle said in a press conference shortly after the draft he was targeting the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2010.^[10] However, after the Ravens' minicamp, Kindle acknowledged: "When I said that, it was just an exciting moment for me, getting drafted. My head was in the clouds."^[14]

On July 25, Kindle fell down two flights of stairs at a home in Austin, Texas. He was sent to the hospital in stable condition but was described as suffering head trauma. It was later determined he fractured his skull in the fall. As a result, Kindle was unable to attend the Ravens' training camp at McDaniel College.^[15]

On September 23, 2010, Kindle signed a one-year contract for $320,000, the rookie minimum, and was immediately placed on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list.^[16] Because Kindle did not sign until Week 3 of the 2010 season, Kindle received a prorated salary of $282,000. The contract included no signing bonus (by comparison, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, the player drafted just before Kindle, received a signing bonus of $1.76 million).^[17]

Eighteen months after he was drafted, Kindle was activated for the first time in his career for the Ravens' Week 4 game against the New York Jets. He played primarily on special teams, but saw some time on defense towards the end of the game.^[18]

On October 20, 2012, the Ravens waived Kindle to make room for outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, who had spent the first six weeks on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. On October 22, 2012, Kindle was signed to the Ravens practice squad. On January 7, 2013, he was released from the team.^[19] Though he'd been waived by the time the game was played, as a member of the team for part of the season he was awarded a Super Bowl ring when the Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII.