Baraka Atkins
Encyclopedia
Baraka Atkins is an American football
linebacker
in the National Football League
who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks
in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at the University of Miami
.
Atkins has also played for the San Francisco 49ers
, Denver Broncos
, and Pittsburgh Steelers
.
he split time between defensive tackle and end. He played in 49 games, starting 45
times and registered 175 tackles (84 solos), 18 sacks and 29.5 stops for loss and 52 quarterback pressures and nine pass deflections, recovered three fumbles, including one for a touchdown and caused five fumbles. In 2006 as a senior he was honorable mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference
after starting 10 games at left defensive end and recorded 49 tackles (22 solos) with four sacks, nine stops for losses and eleven quarterback pressures and recovered a pair of fumbles and deflected two passes. In 2005 as a junior he was a starting defensive tackle playing in all 12 games (11 starts). He finished the season with 50 tackles (25 solo), five tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, three pass breakups and six QB pressures. In 2004 he started all 12 games at both defensive end and defensive tackle and made 33 total tackles (15 solo), including nine tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks, forced two fumbles, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He added one pass breakup and had a team-high 19 QB pressures and was voted honorable mention All-ACC. In 2003 he started 12 of the teams 13 games and was Third-team Freshman All-America
honors by The Sporting News. He recorded 43 total tackles (22 solo), including 6.5 tackles for a loss, and five sacks and registered a team-high three forced fumbles and was responsible for 16 quarterback hurries. In 2002 he sat out the year with a redshirt season.
350-pound bench press. 425-pound squat
by the Seattle Seahawks. As a rookie in 2007 Atkins played in 12 games and made 5 tackles. In 2008 he played in 9 games and recorded his first two sacks in the NFL. On September 5, 2009 Atkins was released by Seattle for the final 53 man roster.
on December 9, 2009 after defensive end
Kentwan Balmer
was placed on injured reserve
. The 49ers waived Atkins on December 22.
on January 11, 2011. He was released during final cuts on September 2nd, 2011.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft
2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at the University of Miami
Miami Hurricanes football
The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
.
Atkins has also played for the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
.
Early years
Atkins attended Booker High School, Sarasota, Fla., where he played mainly strongside defensive end in high school. He was First-team Class 3A all-state selection as a senior, when he recorded 78 tackles and 25 sacks, forced four fumbles, recovered four fumbles (returned one for a TD). As a junior, returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, adding 79 tackles and eight sacks. He also lettered in track and basketball.College career
At the University of MiamiUniversity of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
he split time between defensive tackle and end. He played in 49 games, starting 45
times and registered 175 tackles (84 solos), 18 sacks and 29.5 stops for loss and 52 quarterback pressures and nine pass deflections, recovered three fumbles, including one for a touchdown and caused five fumbles. In 2006 as a senior he was honorable mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
after starting 10 games at left defensive end and recorded 49 tackles (22 solos) with four sacks, nine stops for losses and eleven quarterback pressures and recovered a pair of fumbles and deflected two passes. In 2005 as a junior he was a starting defensive tackle playing in all 12 games (11 starts). He finished the season with 50 tackles (25 solo), five tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, three pass breakups and six QB pressures. In 2004 he started all 12 games at both defensive end and defensive tackle and made 33 total tackles (15 solo), including nine tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks, forced two fumbles, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He added one pass breakup and had a team-high 19 QB pressures and was voted honorable mention All-ACC. In 2003 he started 12 of the teams 13 games and was Third-team Freshman All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
honors by The Sporting News. He recorded 43 total tackles (22 solo), including 6.5 tackles for a loss, and five sacks and registered a team-high three forced fumbles and was responsible for 16 quarterback hurries. In 2002 he sat out the year with a redshirt season.
Pre-draft
| Pre-draft measureables | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash 40 yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time in the 40 can have a heavy impact on his prospects in college or professional football... |
10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20 ss 20 yard shuttle The 20-yard shuttle, also simply called the short shuttle, is a test performed by American football athletes at the NFL combine. It is primarily run to evaluate the quickness and change-of-direction ability of players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting... |
3-cone 3 cone drill The 3 cone drill, or three cone drill, is a test performed by American football athletes at the NFL combine. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting... |
Vert Vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of raising one's center of gravity higher in the vertical plane solely with the use of one's own muscles; it is a measure of how high an individual or athlete can elevate off the ground from a standstill.-Types of vertical jump:The vertical jump is... |
Broad | BP Bench press The bench press is an exercise of the upper body. For bodybuilding purposes, it is used to stimulate the pectorals, deltoids, and triceps. While on his or her back, the person performing the bench press lowers a weight to the level of the chest, then pushes it back up until the arm is straight... |
Wonderlic | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6-4 * | 271 * | 4.69 * | 1.69 * | 2.79 * | 4.67 ** | 7.02 ** | 33" * | 9'04" ** | 22 * | 11 * | |||||||||
| * represents NFL Combine NFL Combine The National Invitational Camp or NFL Scouting Combine, as it is more widely known, is a week-long showcase, occurring every February in Indianapolis, Indiana's Lucas Oil Stadium , where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Football League coaches, general... **represents Miami Pro Day |
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350-pound bench press. 425-pound squat
Seattle Seahawks
Atkins was drafted in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
by the Seattle Seahawks. As a rookie in 2007 Atkins played in 12 games and made 5 tackles. In 2008 he played in 9 games and recorded his first two sacks in the NFL. On September 5, 2009 Atkins was released by Seattle for the final 53 man roster.
San Francisco 49ers
Atkins was signed by the San Francisco 49ersSan Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
on December 9, 2009 after defensive end
Defensive end
Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
Kentwan Balmer
Kentwan Balmer
-San Francisco 49ers:Balmer was selected in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, 29th overall. He was originally drafted as a DT but was moved to DE due to the Niners 3-4 defensive scheme....
was placed on injured reserve
Injured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
. The 49ers waived Atkins on December 22.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Atkins was signed by the Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
on January 11, 2011. He was released during final cuts on September 2nd, 2011.