1. Anthony Hitchens was born on June 10,1992 and is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League.
40 Facts About Anthony Hitchens
1. 2.
Anthony Hitchens played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL draft.
3.
Anthony Hitchens has six siblings and does not have a relationship with his father who was in and out of prison.
4.
At the age of 12, Anthony Hitchens asked his mother if he could move in with his best friend, Zach Anderson, and his family in Sheffield Township.
5.
Anthony Hitchens's mother gave him her permission and he immediately moved into Brad and Amy Anderson's home.
6.
Anthony Hitchens played football with their oldest son Zach and would stay overnight and always eat dinner with them.
7.
In high school, Anthony Hitchens was a three-sport athlete, playing football, basketball, and track.
8.
Anthony Hitchens is the school's all-time rushing leader with 3,864 yards, and the single game leader with 354 yards.
9.
Anthony Hitchens had offers from the University of Kansas, Indiana University, University of Akron, and Eastern Michigan, before deciding to continue his career at the University of Iowa.
10.
Anthony Hitchens was one of 35 linebackers to perform at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.
11.
Anthony Hitchens tied for 12th among his position group in the 40-yard dash, tied for ninth among linebackers in the bench press, and finished 17th in the three-cone drill.
12.
Anthony Hitchens improved upon his 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and ran positional drills for the scouts and team representatives from 28 NFL teams.
13.
Anthony Hitchens was ranked the 31st best outside linebacker prospect in the draft by DraftScout.
14.
When Lee was lost for the season during organized team activities, and the team traded for Rolando McClain, it was decided to make Anthony Hitchens learn all three linebacker positions.
15.
Anthony Hitchens began organized team activities taking reps with the first-team defense, but was moved to the backup middle linebacker after Justin Durant returned from a hamstring injury.
16.
Anthony Hitchens spent the bulk of training camp at outside linebacker, competing with Justin Durant and Kyle Wilber, before being moved back to middle linebacker.
17.
The Dallas Cowboys opted to trade for McClain and have Anthony Hitchens compete with him in training camp.
18.
Anthony Hitchens made his first career tackle in the closing seconds of the game, helping safety Barry Church tackle 49ers' running back Frank Gore who gained five-yards on a short run to seal the win for the 49ers.
19.
Anthony Hitchens started in place of Justin Durant, who suffered a groin injury in the season-opener against the 49ers.
20.
Anthony Hitchens was nominated for the Pepsi Rookie of the Week award after his week 16 performance against the Colts.
21.
Anthony Hitchens finished the regular season with 75 combined tackles, four pass deflections, and one interception in 16 games and nine starts.
22.
Anthony Hitchens was involved in a heavily controversial play during the fourth quarter after the back judge threw a flag and penalized Anthony Hitchens for pass interference for making contact and pushing off of Lions' tight end Brandon Pettigrew as he attempted to catch a deep pass by Matt Stafford.
23.
Anthony Hitchens was slated to become the strong side linebacker after the departure of Bruce Carter, but was switched to middle linebacker after McClain was suspended for the first four games.
24.
Anthony Hitchens was named the starting middle linebacker, ahead of Jasper Brinkley, to begin the regular season.
25.
Anthony Hitchens's production was slightly decreased due to the return of Lee.
26.
Anthony Hitchens began training camp competing with Kyle Wilber and Damien Wilson for the role as the strongside linebacker.
27.
Anthony Hitchens took over the role as the Cowboys' starting middle linebacker after McClain was dealt a ten-game suspension after violating the performance-enhancing drugs policy.
28.
Anthony Hitchens finished the season with 78 combined tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a pass deflection in 16 games and 16 starts.
29.
Anthony Hitchens's salary went from $690,000 to $1.84 million after qualifying for the Proven Performance Escalator.
30.
Anthony Hitchens was slated to start the season at middle linebacker, but suffered a tibial plateau fracture in the Cowboys' final preseason game against the Oakland Raiders.
31.
Anthony Hitchens was expected to miss up to eight weeks, but was able to return before Week 5.
32.
Anthony Hitchens finished the season with 84 combined tackles, two pass deflections, and one forced fumble in 12 games and 12 starts.
33.
Anthony Hitchens became an unrestricted free agent in 2018 and was considered one of the top free agent linebackers available.
34.
Anthony Hitchens was heavily linked to the Colts due to his experience under defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus who was his linebacker coach with the Dallas Cowboys.
35.
The Dallas Cowboys were interested in re-signing Anthony Hitchens, but were unable to offer a considerable contract.
36.
Anthony Hitchens entered training camp slated as a starting inside linebacker and replaced Derrick Johnson.
37.
Anthony Hitchens finished the 2018 NFL season with a career-high 135 combined tackles and forced one fumble in 15 games and 15 starts.
38.
Anthony Hitchens received an overall grade of 40.6 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 92nd among all linebackers in 2018.
39.
Anthony Hitchens entered the 2021 season as the starting middle linebacker.
40.
Anthony Hitchens started 15 games, finishing second on the team with 80 tackles.