57 Facts About Reggie Nelson

Reggie Lee Nelson was born on September 21,1983 and is a former American football safety.

Reggie Nelson played college football for the University of Florida, where he was a member of a national championship team and earned consensus All-American honors.

Reggie Nelson was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft and played for the Cincinnati Bengals and Oakland Raiders.

Reggie Nelson attended Palm Bay High School in Melbourne, and was a standout high school football player for the Palm Bay Pirates.

Reggie Nelson was teammates with Joe Cohen and Xavier Carter.

Reggie Nelson was taught how to play football by Rob Robbins.

Reggie Nelson attended Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, Kansas first, red-shirting his freshman year, and then earned his associate degree and transferred to Florida as a sophomore.

Reggie Nelson accepted an athletic scholarship to play for coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators football team in 2005 and 2006.

Reggie Nelson was an immediate sophomore starter for the Gators at free safety in 2005.

Reggie Nelson started in four games, and registered forty-six tackles, with four sacks, and forced a fumble.

Reggie Nelson totaled seven tackles against Vanderbilt and Florida State.

The Gators ended up going to the BCS National Championship Game and defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes, while Reggie Nelson recorded fifty-one tackles, five pass breakups and six interceptions.

Reggie Nelson was a first-team All-SEC selection and a consensus first-team All-American, and he was chosen by his Gators teammates as the team's most valuable player.

Reggie Nelson was the third safety drafted in 2007, behind LSU's LaRon Landry and Texas' Michael Griffin, and became the highest defensive back drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Reggie Nelson entered training camp slated as the starting free safety after the departure of Deon Grant in free agency.

Head coach Jack Del Rio officially named Reggie Nelson the starting free safety to begin the regular season, along with strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh.

Reggie Nelson finished his rookie season with 63 combined tackles, 11 pass deflections, five interceptions, and a forced fumble in 16 games and 15 starts.

Reggie Nelson received an overall grade of 73.2 from Pro Football Focus in 2007.

Head coach Jack Del Rio named Reggie Nelson the starting free safety to begin the regular season, opposite strong safety Brian Williams.

Reggie Nelson sustained a knee injury and was inactive for three games.

Reggie Nelson finished the 2008 season with 54 combined tackles, four pass deflections, and two interceptions in 13 games and 13 starts.

Reggie Nelson earned an overall grade of 47.6 in 2008, marking the lowest grade throughout his career.

In Week 15, Reggie Nelson had a disappointing performance and was demoted to being a backup for the rest of the season as Anthony Smith started in his place.

Reggie Nelson finished the 2009 season with 70 combined tackles in 16 games and 14 starts.

On October 31,2010, Reggie Nelson earned his first start with the Cincinnati Bengals after Roy Williams and Chinedum Ndukwe were listed as inactive due to knee injuries.

On November 22,2010, Reggie Nelson became the starting free safety after the Cincinnati Bengals placed Chris Crocker on injured reserve for the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL.

Reggie Nelson finished his first season with the Cincinnati Bengals with 54 combined tackles, seven pass deflections, and two interceptions in 16 games and six starts.

Reggie Nelson received an overall grade of 72.0 from Pro Football Focus in 2010.

Reggie Nelson entered training camp slated as the starting strong safety.

Reggie Nelson intercepted a pass by quarterback Tarvaris Jackson that was originally intended for wide receiver Kris Durham and returned it for a 75-yard touchdown with 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Reggie Nelson finished the 2011 season with 85 combined tackles, 12 pass deflections, four interceptions, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and a touchdown in 16 games and 16 starts.

Reggie Nelson became an unrestricted free agent following the 2012 season and was widely considered to be the top free agent safety by many analysts.

Reggie Nelson reportedly received interest from three teams, including the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets.

On May 16,2012, Reggie Nelson attended a two-day private visit with the New York Jets and received a contract offer.

Reggie Nelson ultimately declined their offer and chose to accept a similar contract offer by the Bengals.

Head coach Marvin Lewis officially named Reggie Nelson the starting free safety to start the 2012 regular season, opposite strong safety Taylor Mays.

Reggie Nelson was sidelined for the next two games due to the injury.

Reggie Nelson completed the 2012 season with 85 combined tackles, nine pass deflections, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and a sack in 14 games and 14 starts.

Reggie Nelson received an overall grade of 88.1 from Pro Football Focus in 2012.

Reggie Nelson was inactive for the Bengals' Week 4 loss at the Cleveland Browns after injuring his hamstring the previous week.

Reggie Nelson finished the season with 65 combined tackles, seven pass deflections, two interceptions, a forced fumble, and a sack in 15 games and 15 starts.

Reggie Nelson earned an overall grade of 82.3 from Pro Football Focus in 2013.

Reggie Nelson completed the 2014 season with a career-high 95 combined tackles, 13 pass deflections, four interceptions, and 1.5 sacks in 16 games and 16 starts.

Reggie Nelson received an overall grade of 82.7 from Pro Football Focus in 2014.

On December 24,2015, it was announced that Reggie Nelson was voted to the 2016 Pro Bowl, marking the first Pro Bowl selection of his career.

Reggie Nelson started in 16 games in 2015 and recorded 77 combined tackles, 14 passes defensed, and a career-high eight interceptions.

Reggie Nelson earned an overall grade of 84.2 from Pro Football Focus and was ranked 13th among qualifying safeties in 2016.

Reggie Nelson became an unrestricted free agent after 2015 and was one of the top free agent safeties in the market.

Reggie Nelson received a two-year contract offer from the Cincinnati Bengals, but chose to decline it in hopes of receiving a three or four-year deal.

Reggie Nelson received interest from the Minnesota Vikings and Oakland Raiders.

Head coach Jack Del Rio named Reggie Nelson the starting free safety to start the regular season, opposite starting strong safety Karl Joseph.

On December 20,2016, it was announced that Reggie Nelson was voted to the 2017 Pro Bowl, marking his second consecutive selection.

Reggie Nelson started in 16 games in his first season with the Oakland Raiders and recorded 65 combined tackles, 12 pass deflections, and five interceptions.

Reggie Nelson received an overall grade of 81.5 from Pro Football Focus in 2016.

Reggie Nelson finished the season with 89 combined tackles, five passes defended, one interception, and two forced fumbles in 16 games and 16 starts.

Reggie Nelson played in 11 games before being placed on injured reserve on December 5,2018, with a shoulder injury.

Reggie Nelson's sister, Lynisha, is a hall of fame basketball player for the Florida Tech Panthers and his brother, Michael Reggie Nelson, is a teacher in the Miami-Dade public school system.