David Lee Bruton Jr. (born July 23, 1987) is a former American football strong safety and special teamer. He was selected by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL draft. He played college football at Notre Dame. He was also a member of the Washington Redskins.
 Bruton with the Denver Broncos in 2010 | |||||||||||||
| No. 30 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Strong safety | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | July 23, 1987 Winchester, Kentucky, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Miamisburg (OH) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Notre Dame | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2009 / round: 4 / pick: 114 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Early life
editBruton attended Miamisburg High School in Miamisburg, Ohio. As a senior, he recorded 54 tackles, three interceptions and broke up seven passes on defense, while catching 10 passes for 200 yards on offense. He earned All-Division I-II all-area honors from Dayton Daily News and won all-district honors on defense.
College career
editBruton played four seasons for Notre Dame, playing as a starter in his junior and senior seasons. Bruton finished his career with 214 total tackles and seven interceptions. His best season came as a senior, when he finished second on the team with 97 total tackles and had a team-high four interceptions. In Bruton's final college game, he had an interception in the Hawaii Bowl, helping Notre Dame win its first bowl game since the 1993 season. Bruton graduated from Notre Dame in 2009 with a bachelor's degree, majoring in political science and sociology.[1]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
219 lb (99 kg) |
4.48 s | 1.53 s | 2.59 s | 4.28 s | 6.60 s | 41+1⁄2 in (1.05 m) |
11 ft 0 in (3.35 m) |
19 reps | |||
| All values from NFL Combine[2] | ||||||||||||
Denver Broncos
editBruton was selected in the fourth round (114th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos.[3] Before the 2009 season, Bruton signed a four-year contract with Denver. Bruton made his first career start on December 20, 2009, against the Oakland Raiders where he recorded 4 tackles. Bruton finished his rookie 2009 season with 14 total tackles. During the lockout, he had taken a job as a substitute teacher in Miamisburg, Ohio.[4]
Bruton provides the Broncos with depth at the safety position, yet he is mostly used on special teams and is considered one of the best special teamers in the league. Bruton had been the Broncos' special teams captain for the 2013–2015 seasons.[5]
On March 11, 2013, Bruton re-signed with the Broncos on a three-year contract.[6]
On September 27, 2015, Bruton recorded a key fourth quarter interception off of Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford in a 24–12 Denver victory over Detroit.[7] On December 20, in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bruton suffered a broken fibula early into the game. However, he refused to be taken out of the game and instead played through the rest of it. He was on the field for 77 plays with the broken leg before being taken off late in the fourth quarter.[8] The Broncos would go on to lose the game 34–27. Two days later, the Broncos placed him on injured reserve.[9]
On February 7, 2016, Bruton was part of the Broncos team that won Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers by a score of 24–10.[10] However, he did not play in the game due to injury.
Washington Redskins
editBruton signed with the Washington Redskins on a three–year, $9 million contract on March 15, 2016.[11][12] He was placed on injured reserve on October 5, 2016.[13] He was released by the Redskins on December 2, 2016.[14]
Retirement
editOn July 24, 2017, Bruton announced his retirement from the NFL due to health concerns after suffering six concussions in eight seasons in the league.[15]
Career statistics
edit| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Total | Ast | Sack | FF | FR | Yds | INT | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | ||
| 2009 | DEN | 14 | 1 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2010 | DEN | 16 | 2 | 25 | 21 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2011 | DEN | 15 | 1 | 21 | 19 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2012 | DEN | 16 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | -2.0 | -2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2013 | DEN | 16 | 0 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | DEN | 14 | 1 | 25 | 19 | 6 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2015 | DEN | 13 | 3 | 49 | 37 | 12 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 12 | 0 | 7 |
| 2016 | WSH | 4 | 4 | 28 | 20 | 8 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Career | 108 | 12 | 190 | 151 | 39 | 2.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 12 | 0 | 18 | |
Personal life
editDuring the 2011 NFL offseason, Bruton served as an elementary and high school substitute teacher in his former school district in Miamisburg, Ohio. He obtained a one-year license to substitute teach from the Ohio Department of Education.[4]
Bruton was selected as the Broncos' 2015 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. He was recognized for his community and charity efforts including work with his charity, "Bruton's Books".[16]
In 2021 he received a doctor of physical therapy (DPT) degree from the University of Colorado Physical Therapy Program.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ "David Bruton Working as Substitute Teacher During NFL Lockout". Larry Brown Sports. May 23, 2011. Archived from the original on July 12, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
- ^ "David Burton Draft Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
- ^ "2009 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ a b Farrar, Doug (May 23, 2011). "Broncos' Bruton spending the lockout as a substitute teacher". NFL: Shutdown Corner. Yahoo Sports. Archived from the original on May 27, 2011.
- ^ Swanson, Ben. "Broncos name 2015 team captains". Denver Broncos (Press release). Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
- ^ "Denver Broncos keep special teams ace David Bruton with 3-year deal on eve of free agency". Fox News. Associated Press. March 11, 2013. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
- ^ Wolfe, Cameron (September 29, 2015). "David Bruton's film study makes him the latest Broncos clutch playmaker". Denver Post. Archived from the original on July 9, 2024. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
- ^ Legwold, Jeff (December 22, 2015). "David Bruton Jr. played most of Sunday's loss with fractured fibula". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
- ^ Mason, Andrew (December 22, 2015). "David Bruton Jr. to be placed on injured reserve; Broncos sign Shaun Prater to take spot". Denver Broncos (Press release). Archived from the original on December 27, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
- ^ "Super Bowl 50 - Denver Broncos vs. Carolina Panthers - February 7th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
- ^ "Redskins Sign S David Bruton Jr" (Press release). Washington Redskins. Archived from the original on July 12, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
- ^ "Redskins strike deal with safety David Bruton". NFL (Press release). Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
- ^ Czarda, Stephen (October 5, 2016). "Redskins Sign Safeties Donte Whitner And Josh Evans". Washington Redskins (Press release). Archived from the original on August 4, 2017.
- ^ "12/2: Redskins Make Roster Moves". Washington Redskins. December 2, 2016. Archived from the original on May 9, 2017.
- ^ Alper, Josh (July 24, 2017). "David Bruton retires after eight seasons". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Archived from the original on July 12, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
- ^ "David Bruton Jr. named 2015 Broncos Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year". Denver Broncos (Press release). Archived from the original on December 4, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
External links
edit
- Official website
- Washington Redskins bio Archived March 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- Denver Broncos bio Archived January 7, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio Archived January 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- Bruton's Books website