HOUSTON TEXANS WEEKLY RELEASE - NFL.com

Brian CUSHING56 LINEBACKERTRANSACTIONS: Selected by Houston Texans inthe first round (15th pick overall) of the 2009 NFLDraft...Signed by Texans on August 2, 2009.HONORS: 2010 Pro Bowl...2009 Associated PressDefensive Rookie of the Year...2009 Pro FootballWeekly/PFWA Defensive Rookie of the Year;2009 Pro Football Weekly/PFWA All-RookieTeam; 2009 AFC Defensive Player of the Week(Week 6 and Week 8)...NFL Defensive Rookie ofthe Month (November and December).PRO: Fast and physical linebacker who wasHouston’s first-round pick (15th overall) in the2009 NFL Draft...opened the season as the starterat SLB.Height: 6-4 | Weight: 259 | College: Southern California |Hometown: Park Ridge, New Jersey | 2nd NFL Season |2nd with Texans | Age as of Kickoff Weekend 2010: 23 |Acquired: D1-’09 (15th overall) | 2010 GP/GS: 0/0 |Career GP/GS: 16/16 | Teams: Houston, 2009-10 |2009 (Houston 16/16): Made professional debutfor the Texans, starting at linebacker against theNew York Jets (9/13) and tied for the team-highwith eight tackles (five solo)...had team-high tentackles, including two tackles for loss at Tennessee(9/20)...named the Texans co-DefensivePlayer of the Week (along with LB DeMeco Ryans)after his ten tackles at Tennessee...becamethe first Texans rookie to lead his team in tacklesin his first three career games vs. Jacksonville(9/27) where he registered eight tackles (six solo),one tackle for loss, and two pass defenses...ledTexans in tackles for the fourth consecutivegame with seven (five solo) vs. Oakland (10/4)...also had three hits on the quarterback and onetackle for loss, when he wrapped up Oakland RBJustin Fargas in the endzone for the Texans firstsafety since 12/15/02...had six tackles (three solo)including 0.5 sack and a quarterback hit at Arizona(10/11)...was the Texans defensive player ofthe game at Cincinnati (10/18), where he madenine tackles (six solo), two passes defensed, twoforced fumbles and intercepted a pass from BengalsQB Carson Palmer late in the fourth quarterto clinch the victory...named the AFC DefensivePlayer of the Week (10/21) for his performanceagainst Cincinnati...led the Texans in tackles forthe fifth times in seven games by recording eighttackles (five solo) and one pass defensed vs. SanFrancisco (10/25)...led the Texans in tackles forthe sixth time in eight games with ten (three solo)as well as having one sack, one pass defensedand one interception at Buffalo (11/1)...set a newcareer-high with 12 tackles (10 solo), one passdefensed, one tackle for a loss and one quarterbackhit at Indianapolis (11/8)...led the defense intackles for the eigth times in ten games with tentackles (eight solo) including one for a loss vs.Tennessee (11/23)...defensive leader in tacklesfor the ninth time, compiling 11 tackles (sevensolo) vs. Indianapolis (11/29), where he pickedoff a Peyton Manning pass for his third interceptionof the season...was named NFL Rookie of theMonth of November after totaling 43 tackles, twointerceptions and a sack...had three solo tacklesincluding one for a loss at Jacksonville (12/6)...recorded one sack for a loss of 13 yards, threehits on the quarterback and ten tackles (six solo)including three for a loss vs. Seattle (12/13)...made seven tackles (three solo) with two hits onRams quarteback Keith Null including combiningwith SS Bernard Pollard for a loss of five yards...made nine solo tackles at Miami (12/27) inlcudingone for a loss, intercepted one pass, deflecteda pass and sacked an opposing quarterback forthe third straight week...COLLEGE: Started 38 of 44 games he played in atUSC, including 13 at right defensive end and 31at strong-side outside linebacker...finished hiscareer with 178 tackles (101 solos) that included8.5 quarterback sacks for minus 57 yards, 27.0stops for losses totaling 106 yards and two pres-HOUSTONTEXANS.COM