Stephen Nicholas

Stephen Leron Nicholas (born May 1, 1983) is an American professional football coach and former player who is the defensive quality control coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played seven seasons in the NFL as a linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons.

Nicholas played college football for the South Florida Bulls. He was selected by the Falcons in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL draft.

Early life Nicholas played high school football at Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, Florida. As a senior, he was a class 3A all-state linebacker and was invited to play in the Shrine Bowl.

College career Nicholas played college football at the University of South Florida. During his senior year, he was a Big East first-team selection. He finished his college career with 326 tackles, 20 sacks, and a school record 53.5 tackles for loss.

Professional career Nicholas was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL draft with the 109th overall pick. He finished his rookie year with 37 tackles and one sack. In 2008, he saw action in all 16 games during the season. In 2009, he started 14 games, totaling 82 tackles, 3 sacks. He started his first career game against Miami on September 13. Nicholas was released by the Falcons after seven seasons on February 5, 2014.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD 2007 ATL 13 0 33 29 4 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2008 ATL 16 0 20 16 4 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2009 ATL 16 13 80 65 15 3.0 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 2010 ATL 16 11 78 64 14 0.0 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2011 ATL 10 8 35 17 18 0.0 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 0 2012 ATL 16 15 97 72 25 2.0 5 1 3 0 3 4 1 1 0 0 2013 ATL 14 3 35 21 14 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 101 50 378 284 94 8.0 18 2 3 0 3 12 5 4 2 0

Playoffs Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD 2008 ATL 1 0 2 1 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2010 ATL 1 1 5 4 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2012 ATL 2 2 8 5 3 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 3 15 10 5 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0

Coaching career In 2018, Nicholas was hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be their defensive quality control coach.

Personal life

Stephen Nicholas married then Irene Ledbetter (2007) and have 4 children. Nicholas is also a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.