Second-round pick in 2009 draft played fourth Bengals season in ’12 ... Was No. 1 MLB for second year after playing first two seasons at SLB ... Second on team in tackles (152) ... Led front seven in passes defensed (five) ... Second on team in tackles (115) in 2011, despite missing three games with ankle sprain.
CAREER TRANSACTIONS: Selected by Cincinnati in second round of 2009 NFL Draft (38th overall) ... Signed with Bengals on 7-29-09.
2012 GENERAL: Started all 16 games and Wild Card playoff ... His total of 152 tackles trailed only WLB Vontaze Burfict ... Had at least a share of team tackles lead in seven games, and logged double-digits in tackles in eight contests ... Also had one sack, one fumble recovery and six QB pressures.
2012 GAME-BY-GAME: Tied for team lead in tackles (seven) Sept. 10 at Baltimore, and also had a pass defensed ... Led team in tackles (12) Sept. 16 vs. Cleveland ... Led team Sept. 23 at Washington with 13 tackles ... Led team in tackles (13) Oct. 7 vs. Miami ... Second on team in tackles (10) Oct. 14 at Cleveland ... Led team in tackles (10) Nov. 4 vs. Denver ... Led team with 13 tackles Nov. 11 vs. N.Y. Giants, including 11 solos, and a pass defensed ... Led team Nov. 18 at Kansas City with eight tackles, including third-quarter sack of Brady Quinn ... Second on team with 10 tackles Nov. 25 vs. Oakland, and recovered a Carson Palmer fumble at Raiders 46 in fourth quarter ... Nine tackles (second on team) Dec. 2 at San Diego, with a pass defensed and two QB pressures ... Five tackles Dec. 13 at Philadelphia, and had a key pass defensed in the end zone that helped force an Eagles FG ... Seven tackles Dec. 23 at Pittsburgh ... Second on team in tackles (10) Dec. 30 vs. Baltimore ... Led team with 15 tackles in Wild Card playoff 1-5-13 at Houston ... Started first preseason game, but suffered knee strain that caused him to miss the final three preseason contests.
PREVIOUS SEASONS: 2009—Earned No. 1 SLB position as Bengals rookie and ranked fifth on team in tackles (80) ... Led team in total forced fumbles (three), with two on defense and one on special teams ... Suffered left ankle fracture in Game 15, Dec. 27 vs. Kansas City, and was placed Dec. 30 on Reserve/Injured list, missing season finale and Wild Card playoff ... Had key forced fumble against RB Ryan Grant in third quarter Sept. 20 at Green Bay, with Bengals recovering at their 38 and driving 62 yards for TD that put Cincinnati ahead to stay ... Also at Green Bay, had sack and forced fumble on Aaron Rodgers (Packers recovered) and six total tackles.
2010—Tied for club lead with six tackles Sept. 26 at Carolina, including team-best five solos ... Nine tackles (led LBs) Oct. 10 vs. Tampa Bay, including 10-yard sack of Josh Freeman that helped set up game’s first TD drive in first quarter ... Led team with 13 tackles Oct. 31 vs. Miami ... On Nov. 25 at N.Y. Jets, had his first pro INT, off Mark Sanchez, with 11-yard return in third quarter ... On Dec. 26 vs. San Diego, had key INT against Philip Rivers, returning it 47 yards to San Diego 21 in third quarter, setting up TD drive for 20-10 Cincinnati lead.
2011—Started 13 games (Games 1-5 and 9-16) at MLB, and also started in Wild Card playoff ... Sidelined for Games 6-8 due to ankle sprain suffered in practice Oct. 13 ... Led team in forced fumbles (three) and tied for team lead in combined fumbles forced/recovered (four) ... One INT and three passes defensed ... On Sept. 25 vs. San Francisco, forced fumble by Frank Gore at Bengals 16 in fourth quarter, and Bengals recovered ... Had team-leading 12 tackles Oct. 2 vs. Buffalo ... Team-leading 10 tackles Oct. 9 at Jacksonville, along with key pass defensed as Bengals held Jaguars to second-quarter FG after Jacksonville returned INT to Cincinnati two-yard line ... Had two forced fumbles (both recovered by Cincinnati) Dec. 11 vs. Houston, including second-quarter play on which he stopped RB Ben Tate for two-yard loss on first-and-goal from Bengals one, recovering the fumble himself ... Set up first Bengals score Dec. 24 vs. Arizona, intercepting John Skelton pass with two-yard return to Cardinals 23 ... Led team with personal season-high 14 tackles 1-1-12 vs. Baltimore ... Three tackles in Wild Card playoff 1-7-12 at Houston.
COLLEGE: Played 50 games with 34 starts over four seasons (2005-08) at USC ... Earned multiple national honors as senior, and joined Bengals with reputation as one of college ranks’ best ever for combination of hard hitting and speed to cover field ... Named freshman All-American in ’05, and was first-team All-Pac 10 in final three seasons, topped by consensus All-American honors as senior ... Won 2008 Bednarik Award (nation’s top defensive player) and was named National Defensive Player of the Year by CBSSports.com ... As senior, was leading tackler (79) on unit that led nation in scoring defense (9.0 points per game) and finished second in fewest yards allowed (221.8) ... Helped lead Trojans to 46-6 record over four seasons.
PERSONAL: Parents are native Samoans, and he grew up in a military family ... Born in Oklahoma City, but moved with family as an infant to Honolulu, where he lived until age 12 ... Later lived in Oxnard, Calif., and Eureka, Calif. ... Attended Eureka High School, where he was named a first-team All-American as a senior by both Parade and USA Today ... Spent his 2001 prep freshman year at St. Bonaventure High School in Ventura, Calif. ... Sociology major at USC ... First name is pronounced “RAY” and last name is pronounced “mow(rhymes with ‘now’)-uh-LOO-guh.”
