“Mark Nzeocha”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Mark Nzeocha ({{IPAc-en|ɛ|n|ˈ|z|ɒ|tʃ|ə}} {{respell|en|ZOTCH|ə}}; born January 19, 1990) is a German-born American football linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Wyoming.

Early years

Nzeocha attended high school at FOS Ansbach. He began playing flag football as a 13-year old for the Franken Knights youth team, before moving up to the junior football team at 16.

He was a safety for the German National Team that won the 2008 European Junior Championships and that finished fifth in the 2009 IFAF Junior World Cup in Canton, Ohio. He received recognition by being named to the All-tournament team.

College career

His international exposure earned him a scholarship to play for the University of Wyoming. As a freshman, he played as an outside linebacker in 10 games, before being moved to free safety during the latter part of the season. The next year, he was moved to strong safety, finishing with 11 games played (two starts), 32 tackles and a forced fumble.^[1]

After earning the starting strongside linebacker position as a junior, he had a break-out season with 101 tackles (10-for-loss), one sack, two forced fumbles and two passes defensed.

In his last year, he was playing strongside linebacker in the base defense, middle linebacker in the nickel defense, and was a core special teams player.^[2] He was also leading the team in multiple defensive categories, before suffering a season ending ACL tear in the seventh game against San Jose State University, finishing with 59 tackles (three-for-loss), two sacks, two forced fumbles and five passes defensed. He was named to the Academic All-Conference team in three-straight seasons.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Nzeocha was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round (236th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. The San Diego Chargers previously traded this pick to Dallas in exchange for Sean Lissemore. Due to his limited football experience, Nzeocha was targeted primarily because of his athletic ability.^[3] Entering the league as a 25-year-old rookie, he missed all of the preseason while recovering from a knee injury he suffered in college. He began the regular season on the Reserve/Non-Football injury list and was activated until November 18. He only played in two games and was declared inactive for five.

In 2016, he was used at middle linebacker during the preseason, posting one interception against the Los Angeles Rams. He suffered a strained Achilles tendon in the second game against the Miami Dolphins, which not only forced him to miss the rest of the preseason, but also the first 4 games of the regular season. He played in 5 games mainly on special teams and was declared inactive in 7 contests.

In 2017, he was the backup of middle linebacker Anthony Hitchens during organized team activities. On June 6, he had his knee scoped, which delayed the start of his training camp. On September 3, he was released after the team acquired linebacker Jayrone Elliott in a trade and was re-signed to the practice squad.^[4]^[5]

San Francisco 49ers

On September 25, 2017, Nzeocha was signed by the San Francisco 49ers off the Cowboys' practice squad.^[6] He appeared in 10 games and had 4 special teams tackles. On January 26, 2018, Nzeocha re-signed with the 49ers.^[7]

On March 15, 2019, Nzeocha signed a three-year contract extension with the 49ers.^[8]

Personal life

His brother Eric Nzeocha is a linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is a part of their practice squad. Nzeocha is half Nigerian.

References

1. ^{{cite web |url=http://trib.com/news/updates/transition-to-strong-safety-easy-for-former-linebacker/article_ac6ac898-0b19-5d53-bc41-2d2b31ab5901.html |title=Transition to strong safety easy for former linebacker |accessdate=January 3, 2016}}
2. ^{{cite web |url=http://trib.com/sports/college/wyoming/wyoming-linebacker-mark-nzeocha-thriving-in-senior-season/article_220bd773-6570-5b2b-b3e7-d01d77ec82fd.html |title=Wyoming linebacker Mark Nzeocha thriving in senior season |accessdate=January 3, 2016}}
3. ^{{cite web| url=http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas-cowboys/post/_/id/4742173/total-breakdown-cowboys-draft-lb-mark-nzeocha-in-the-seventh-round | title=Cowboys draft LB Mark Nzeocha in seventh round | accessdate=January 3, 2016}}
4. ^{{cite web|title=Dallas Cowboys release linebacker Mark Nzeocha|url=http://dal.247sports.com/Bolt/Dallas-Cowboys-release-linebacker-Mark-Nzeocha-106892137|author=Quinn, Sam|website=247sports.com|date=September 3, 2017}}
5. ^{{cite web|title=Cowboys to bring back LB Mark Nzeocha to practice squad|url=http://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/2017/09/05/dallas-cowboys-mark-nzeocha-jayrone-elliott-linebacker-practice-squad/|author=Barrera, Zeke|website=USAToday.com|date=September 5, 2017}}
6. ^{{cite web|title=49ers Sign LB Mark Nzeocha, Place DL Tank Carradine on IR|url=http://www.49ers.com/news/article-2/49ers-Sign-LB-Mark-Nzeocha-Place-DL-Tank-Carradine-on-IR/e9c73dae-7f0c-4d80-9d2f-fa39c60ca283?sf116619566=1|website=49ers.com|date=September 25, 2017}}
7. ^{{cite web|title=49ers re-sign LB Mark Nzeocha to 1-year deal|url=http://www.espn.com/espn/wire/_/section/nfl/id/22226851|website=ESPN|date=January 26, 2018}}
8. ^{{cite web|title=49ers Announce a Series of Roster Moves|url=https://www.49ers.com/news/49ers-announce-a-series-of-roster-moves-x9677|website=49ers.com|date=March 15, 2019}}