Stephen Nicholas Bio
By NFLDraftScout.com
April 29, 2007
Called the "heart and soul" of the defense by the coaching staff, Stephen Nicholas brought back memories of former Dolphins standout A.J. Duhe for Florida football fans, as he not only played all three linebacker positions, but was usually seen roaming the field in a variety of roles depending on the play's situation.
A high-motor type who makes tackles in bunches, Nicholas was certain to leave his imprint in the school's record books before his playing days came to an end. His 326 tackles rank second in school history, while he set USF all-time records with 20 sacks and 53.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage. He also established school records for most games started (45) and most games played in (50) during a career.
Nicholas enrolled at South Florida in 2002, spurning scholarship offers from Syracuse, Georgia and Louisville. That season, he appeared in three games, recording two solo tackles with a stop for a loss before being granted a medical hardship due to an ankle sprain. He returned to start nine contests at strongside outside linebacker, earning Freshman All-America recognition from The Sporting News.
That year, he collected 46 tackles (30 solos) with 5.5 sacks and 11 stops for loss. He was credited with seven quarterback pressures, as he caused and recovered one fumble. In 2004, Nicholas started the first six games at strongside linebacker before moving to the weak side. He registered 97 tackles (54 solos) with 11 stops behind the line of scrimmage, adding three pressures and five pass deflections.
The Big East second-team choice started all 12 games on the strong side in 2005. He finished third on the team with 79 tackles (49 solos), as he posted seven sacks and 15.5 stops for loss, the sixth-best season total in school annals. He caused a pair of fumbles and recovered another. He also broke up three passes.
In 2006, Nicholas was named All-Big East first team. He started all 13 games to rank second on the team with 102 tackles (77 solos), adding 7.5 sacks and 15 stops behind the line of scrimmage with nine pressures. He batted away seven passes, intercepted another and blocked one kick.
In 50 games at South Florida, Nicholas started 45 times. He recorded 326 tackles (212 solos) with 20 sacks for minus-137 yards, 53? stops for losses of 217 yards and 26 quarterback pressures. He caused three fumbles and recovered two others while also blocking one kick. He had 15 pass deflections and a pair of interceptions.
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