Brian Cushing

Brian Cushing (born January 24, 1987) is a professional American football inside linebacker for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Cushing was selected in the 1st round (15th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Texans. He played college football at the University of Southern California.

Early years
Cushing is one of three children of Irish/Polish descent. His mother was born in Germany and his father was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. His brother Michael was a rugby player at Providence College, who earned 1st Team All American Honors. Cushing trained throughout his childhood in Park Ridge, New Jersey. Cushing attended Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey and went on to lead the Crusaders to the 2004 Group IV State Championship as a linebacker, tight end, and running back against Don Bosco Preparatory High School, providing huge plays in the 13-10 win. He was named "2004 North Jersey Player of the Year" by The Record (Bergen County). and played in the 2005 U.S. Army All-American Bowl alongside future USC teammates Patrick Turner, Rey Maualuga and Mark Sanchez.

Cushing was recruited by top colleges such as the University of Florida, University of Virginia, Notre Dame, and Boston College, before ultimately committing to the University of Southern California. Cushing was a four year starter who also started in four Rose Bowls. Only two players have ever done this; Archie Griffin (two time Heisman Trophy winner) from Ohio State University was the other.

College career
Cushing attended USC and played for the Trojan football team (2005-2008 seasons) under head coach Pete Carroll and Linebacker Coach Ken Norton Jr. Cushing shared the #10 jersey with Trojan starting quarterback John David Booty from 2005 to 2007.

Cushing was on the 2007 preseason Phil Steele's All-America team and on the 2007 Bednarik Award and Lott Trophy watch lists.

Cushing returned a failed onside kick attempted by Notre Dame at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a late fourth-quarter touchdown on November 25, 2006.

On January 1, 2007, Cushing was named the Defensive MVP of the Rose Bowl Game, after recording 2½ sacks and forcing a third-quarter fumble that changed the momentum of the game.

Cushing was named AP 2nd Team All-American as a senior despite having pedestrian statistics (73 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, & 3 sacks.). NFL scouts didn't admire Cushing for his stats, but for his versatility. Fast enough to play inside and outside linebacker and big and strong enough to play defensive end. Cushing was the most versatile defensive player in the draft. He also shocked NFL scouts by benching 225 lbs 30 times.

Cushing was one of twelve senior USC players, including the four senior linebackers Cushing, Kaluka Maiava, Clay Matthews III and Rey Maualuga, invited to the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine. He also participated in the 2009 Senior Bowl with Maualuga, Matthews, Patrick Turner and others. Alongside fellow USC linebackers Maualuga and Matthews, he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated's 2009 NFL Draft Preview magazine, as all three were regarded as potential first round selections.

College awards and honors

 * 2005 Scout.com Freshman All American All-American
 * 2006 All-Pac-10 Second-team
 * 2007 All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention
 * 2007 Rose Bowl Defensive MVP
 * 2008 All-Pac-10 First-team selection by the conference's head coaches and Rivals.com
 * 2008 Rivals.com First-team All-American
 * 2008 SI.com First-team All-American
 * 2008 AP.com First-team All-American

Houston Texans
Cushing was drafted with the 15th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans and had one of the best defensive seasons by a rookie in NFL history.

He scored his first career points on October 4, 2009 when he recorded a safety against the Oakland Raiders. The safety was the first recorded by a Texan since the 2002 season.

Cushing was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 6 of the 2009 NFL Season. Cushing became the first rookie to earn the award in the season. In Week 8, Cushing was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week again, becoming the first Texans rookie to win the award twice in one season. Cushing was also named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for November.

Cushing finished tied with Ray Lewis for the AFC lead with 133 tackles & added 4 sacks, 10 pass deflections, 4 interceptions, & 2 forced fumbled. He was selected to the 2010 Pro Bowl as a starter. Cushing was one of three rookies to make it to the Pro Bowl, another being a former USC teammate. On January 5, 2010, Cushing was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Cushing is the second Texan to win the award, the first being DeMeco Ryans in 2006.

On May 7, 2010, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Cushing would be suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season for a positive test in September 2009 violating the NFL's performance-enhancing substances policy for having above normal levels of hCG, a hormone, in his system. Cushing had previously denied rumors of his using performance-enhancing substances prior to being drafted. Cushing still denies that he ever ingested or injected any performance enhancers and claimed the test result could have been from a cancerous tumor. Cushing then stated that he would undergo further medical tests to determine how hCg entered his system.

On May 12, 2010, in a revote of the Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year award after his suspension was made public, Cushing received the most votes again, retaining his award. His second team All-Pro status from his rookie season, however, was rescinded by the AP. Cushing is the 1st player ever to have a revote, even though several other players in the NFL's past history have had similar violations during their rookie season.[33]

Cushing was suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season for testing positive for banned substances. In the final 12 games, he totaled 76 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4 pass deflections, and 1 forced fumble.

During training camp heading into the 2011 season, Cushing was told that he would be switching from outside to inside linebacker due to the new 3-4 defense. They believed that he would not have the quickness to get to the outside. All through high school and college Cushing was always an outside linebacker. No one knew how he would adjust.

In 2011, the Houston Texans finished the season with a 10-6 record and made it to the playoffs for the first time in team history. Cushing was named Team MVP and while he wasn't voted to the Pro-Bowl he earned AP 2nd Team All-Pro honors after finishing the season with 114 tackles, 4 sacks, 5 pass deflections, 2 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles. Houston Texans defensive coordinator, Wade Phillips, called Cushing a "holy phenom" and also said that "he's one of the best I've ever coached, and I've been at it a long time." Cushing said that he will use the fact that he did not make the Pro-Bowl as "motivation and a driving force" to become better. The Texans defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 31-10 in the first round but were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens 20-13 in the Divisional Round.

NFL awards and honors

 * 2x AFC Defensive Rookie of the Month (November 2009 & December 2009)
 * 2x AFC Defensive Player of the Week (2009 weeks 6 & 8)
 * 2009 AFC Defensive Player of the Month of November
 * 2009 Pro Bowl selection (starter)
 * 2009 SN-2nd Team All-Pro
 * 2009 All-Rookie Selection (Sporting News, Pro Football Writers Association)
 * 2009 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
 * 2011 Team Captain
 * 2011 Team MVP
 * 2011 AP-2nd Team All-Pro