PRESEASON EditiON - Detroit Lions

stePHen tuLLoCH
Linebacker
N.C. State
7th Year
Ht: 5-11 Wt: 240
Born: 1/1/85
Miami, Fla.
Draft: ’06, R4 (116)-Ten Acquired: ’11, UFA-Ten
PLayer ProfiLes
Detroitlions.com
Media.Detroitlions.com
Complete biographical information available on Detroitlions.com.
MANE FACTS
‣ Born and raised in Miami, fla., Tulloch has Jamaican heritage. His
parents arrived in the United states as young adults from Jamaica
before he was born. He is appreciative of his Jamaican ancestry and
frequently enjoys his mother’s native cuisine.
‣ Tulloch credits his mother, Mercedes, as his inspiration and reason for
his success. as a single mom, she worked as a nurse to provide for
him and two siblings.
‣ older brother David Tulloch played defensive tackle at florida state
(1995-1998).
‣ Hosts annual free football camp in July for Miami area youth.
‣ list of favorites: (movie) Green Mile; (actor) Denzel Washington; (sports
hero) Mike singletary; (food) Jamaican; (car) Mercedes s550; and
(vacation getaway) Jamaica.
‣ after completing his professional football career, Tulloch desires to
develop a youth center to provide a healthy environment for children
to grow, stay out of trouble and participate in extracurricular activities.
He already has launched The stephen Tulloch foundation to benefit
underprivileged children in Miami and has organized a bowling event
and football camp through the foundation.
TRANSACTIONS
‣ re-signed by lions to a five-year contract extension March 30, 2012.
‣ re-signed by the lions March 22, 2012 to a long-term contract.
‣ signed with Detroit august 1, 2011.
‣ selected with Tennessee’s second pick of the fourth round (116th
overall) in the 2006 Nfl Draft.
PRO
Tulloch is an aggressive, downhill defender who possesses quick feet and
fluid lateral movement. Has proved to be durable while participating in every
game during his first five Nfl seasons and was elected as Tennessee’s
defensive captain in 2010.
‣ Career totals: 96 games (62 starts), 539 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 4 interceptions,
17 pass defenses, 8 fumble recoveries and 28 special
teams tackles.
‣ in 2010, Tulloch led Titans with a career-high 169 tackles, fourth highest
total for the franchise during “Titans era” (1999-present).
‣ in first full season (2009) as team’s starting middle linebacker, he
led team in tackles for first time, setting a then-career high with
132 total stops.
‣ in 2008, he moved into the starting lineup during the season and finished
second on the squad with 98 tackles.
2011: signed with Detroit august 1. served as the team’s starting middle
linebacker. led team with 111 tackles (84 solo). also added 3 sacks, a
career-high 2 interceptions, 5 pass defenses, 3 fumble recoveries and 1
fumble recovery for a touchdown.
‣ recorded his first sack as a Detroit lion for a loss of 4 yards in season
opener at Tampa Bay (9/11). added 4 solo tackles.
‣ Was part of a defensive unit that allowed just 56 yards on the ground
against the Buccaneers. it was the lowest rushing total allowed by
the lions on the road in a season opener since allowing 31 yards at
seattle september 12, 1999. it was also their lowest rushing total allowed
overall on opening day since limiting the Green Bay Packers to
46 yards september 11, 2005. No Bucs running back rushed for more
than 15 yards and just 1 of their 17 first downs came on the ground.
‣ Through the first three quarters, the lions defense forced three-andouts
on five of the Bucs’ first eight possessions, including three-straight
to open the third quarter. on the lions first defensive possession that
started at the lions 21-yard line following a 78-yard kickoff return, the
lions defense held firm and did not allow a first down, forcing a Buccaneer
field goal. in the first half, the defense allowed just 6 points and
limited the Bucs to just 8:15 of possession time in the first two quarters.
‣ recorded second-career fumble recovery vs. Kansas City (9/18) after
De Kyle Vanden Bosch sacked QB Matt Cassel.
‣ led the team in tackles with 7 at Minnesota (9/25), a single-game
career-high. after a slow first half, allowing the Vikings to gain 124
yards on 16 carries (7.8 avg) in the first half, the lions defense helped
the team’s come-from-behind win by stuffing the run in the second half
yielding just 8 rushing yards on 7 carries (1.1 avg). Vikings’ all-Pro rB
adrian Peterson recorded 73 yards on 12 rushes in the first half, but
wash held to just 5 yards on 5 carries by the lions in the second half.
‣ recorded his third career interception and a team-high 12 tackles (10
solo) in the lions 34-30 win at Dallas (10/2). Tulloch’s interception gave
the lions the ball at the Dallas 40-yard line in the fourth quarter with
4:22 left to play and led to a touchdown that helped seal the comeback
win. it was the third interception on the day for Detroit.
‣ recorded his second sack of the season for a loss of 7 yards vs. san
francisco (10/16). added 6 tackles.
‣ led team with 8 tackles (6 solo) and 1 sack at Denver (10/30). it was his
third sack of the season, which marked a new single-season career high.
‣ Had 6 tackles and an interception vs. Carolina (11/20). The fourth
quarter pick of Cam Newton sealed the lions win. it was his second of
the season and it marks the first time in his career he has recorded 2
interceptions in the same season.
‣ Tied for a team-high 10 tackles at New orleans (12/4).
‣ Tulloch had a team-high 9 tackles vs. Minnesota. He also recovered a
fumble in the end zone in the first quarter for his first career touchdown.
‣ recorded 7 tackles (6 solo) vs. san Diego. The 7 tackles puts his total at
104, the third time in his career he has surpassed the 100 tackle mark.
COLLEGE
During three-year career at N.C. state, played in 35 games with 18 starts
and recorded 290 tackles, 40 tackles for loss, seven sacks, one forced
fumble, three fumbles recovered, four pass defenses and 20 quarterback
pressures. His 40 career tackles for loss rank fourth in N.C. state history.
‣ as junior, named first-team all-aCC, honorable mention all-american
by sports illustrated, MVP of 2005 Meineke Car Care Bowl and N.C.
state’s Defensive award winner (for most tackles) while starting all
12 games. Posted career-highs in tackles (150, team-high), sacks (6),
tackles for loss (21), forced fumbles (1), fumbles recovered (2) and
quarterback pressures (9).
‣ Played all 11 games and recorded six starts as a sophomore. Tied for
third on team with 75 tackles, tied for second on team with 14 tackles
for loss (10th in school history), one sack, one fumble recovery and
five quarterback pressures.
‣ as freshman, played all 12 games, totaling 65 tackles, five tackles for
loss, two passes defensed and six quarterback pressures.
PERSONAL
‣ at Miami Killian (fla.) High school, named Dade County Defensive
Player of year and selected to florida super 75, while posting 132
tackles, 12 sacks, two interceptions, two caused fumbles and three
forced fumbles as senior.
‣ at N.C. state, earned Wolfpack aCC award for Community service.
TULLOCH' S SINGLE-GAME BESTS
Tackles: ..................................................................................................................................... 17 vs. Jax 12/5/10
sacks: ...........................................................................................................1.0 (8 times) last at Den 10/31/11
interceptions ..................................................................................................1 (4 times) last vs. Car 11/20/11
interception return yards: ....................................................................................................18 at Dal 10/10/10
Pass Defenses: ..................................................................................................2 (twice) last vs. Car 11/20/11
fumble recoveries ...................................................................................... 1 (7 times) last vs. Min 12/11/11
special Teams Tackles: ............................................................................................................ 3 at KC 12/16/06
TULLOCH' S CAREER STATISTICS
Year Tm G S TT ST AT Sk Yds Int Yds TD PD FF FR Yds TD STT
2006 Ten 16 3 35 20 15 0.5 1 1 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 12
2007 Ten 16 1 36 29 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
2008 Ten 16 12 77 59 18 1 8 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 6
2009 Ten 16 14 120 93 27 2 16 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1
2010 Ten 16 16 160 111 49 1 7 1 18 0 6 0 1 0 0 0
2011 Det 16 16 111 84 27 3 16 2 9 0 5 0 3 0 0 0
Totals 96 62 539 396 143 7.5 48 4 27 0 17 0 8 0 0 28
POSTSEASON
Year Tm G S TT ST AT Sk SkY Int Yds TD PD FF FR Yds TD STT
2011 Det 1 1 15 8 7 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0
Totals 1 1 15 8 7 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0
2011 (Det)
Date Opp G S TT ST AT Sk Yds Int Yds TD PD FF FR Yds TD STT
9/11 at TB 1 1 4 4 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9/18 KC 1 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
9/25 at Min 1 1 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10/2 at Dal 1 1 12 10 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
10/9 CHi 1 1 6 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
10/16 sf 1 1 6 2 4 1 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10/23 aTl 1 1 6 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10/30 at Den 1 1 8 6 2 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11/13 at Chi 1 1 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11/20 Car 1 1 6 5 1 0 0 1 9 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
11/24 GB 1 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
12/4 at No 1 1 10 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12/11 MiN 1 1 9 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
12/18 at oak 1 1 10 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12/24 sD 1 1 7 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1/1 at GB 1 1 7 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Totals 16 16 111 84 27 3 16 2 9 0 5 0 3 0 0 0
Postseason
Date Opp G S TT ST AT Sk SkY Int Yds TD PD FF FR Yds TD STT
1/7 at No 1 1 15 8 7 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0
Totals 1 1 15 8 7 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0