Dat Nguyen

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Dat Nguyen
Date of birth September 25, 1975 (age 31)
Place of birth Flag of United States Fort Chaffee, Arkansas
Position(s) Middle Linebacker
College Texas A&M
NFL Draft 1999 / Round 3/ Pick 85
Awards 1998 Bednarik Award
1998 Lombardi Award
Stats
Playing Stats ESPN
Playing Stats CBS.com
Playing Stats NFL.com
Playing Stats DatabaseFootball
Team(s) as a player
1999-2005 Dallas Cowboys
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
2007-present Dallas Cowboys

Dat Nguyen (Vietnamese: Nguyễn Tấn Đạt, born on September 25, 1975 in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas [1]) is the first Vietnamese American to play in the National Football League. He played for the Dallas Cowboys and is currently their assistant linebackers and defensive quality control coach.

Contents

[edit] Background

His family immigrated from Vietnam after the collapse of South Vietnam. He lived most of his childhood in the Gulf Coast town of Rockport, Texas.

[edit] Biography

Dat Nguyen battled the perception that he was too small to play linebacker for as long as he was involved in the game, despite his muscular 5'11", 238 pound frame. As a college freshman, he was known as "Fat" Nguyen, but added muscle and became an NFL prospect. Proving critics wrong at an early stage, he proceeded to leave Texas A&M University as the Aggies' career record holder with 51 consecutive starts, 517 career tackles and a 10.7 tackles-per-game average.

In 1998, he was named an All-American and won the Bednarik Award as well as the Lombardi Award.

Despite such an illustrious collegiate career, the "undersized" criticism was still heard from NFL personnel.

The Cowboys went ahead hi and drafted the most productive linebacker in Texas A&M history in the third round (85th overall) of the 1999 NFL draft. Nguyen made an impact with the Cowboys from the very beginning, leading the team in special-teams stops as a rookie and becoming Dallas' starting middle hi linebacker in his second professional season. Dat would be a perfect fit for the Cowboys defensive scheme. Possessing great speed and range for a LB, Dat was a sideline to sideline defender and that enabled him to transiton seamlessly into Dallas's version of 4-3 scheme defense. Slightly undersized by traditional standards for the Middle Linebacker position, he possessed tremendous form and excellent explosion at the point of attack. He was as adept at filling the gaps and stopping the run as he was in pass coverage.

In 2001, he competed his first full season as a starting NFL middle linebacker and silenced the critics by recording 112 tackles. Nguyen was a fan favorite throughout his career, even among those who do not like Texas A&M or the Cowboys, because he has always been perceived as an overachieving underdog and a quintessential team-player.

In 2003, with Nguyen leading the team in tackles, his Dallas Cowboys were the most effective defense in the NFL by a very wide margin; several interviews questioned his being left off the Pro Bowl roster.

In May 2004, Nguyen was awarded a Golden Torch Award at the Vietnamese American National Gala in Washington, D.C.

He officially retired from the NFL on March 3, 2006, after a neck injury that hindered his 2005 performance failed to improve. Among the greatest linebackers in Dallas Cowboys history, Nguyen led the team in tackles three times, in 2001, 2003, and 2004, and amassed a stellar 516 tackles in 7 seasons, despite missing half of two sepearate seasons to injury.[2]

Nguyen and wife Becky have two daughters. Also Nguyen has three nephew's Michael Nguyen, Jonathan Nguyen, and Anthony Nguyen. they are all residents of the Lancaster rural area.

In February 2007, Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips announced the hiring of Nguyen as assistant linebackers coach / defensive quality control coach. Along with Phillips' son Wes, Nguyen was the first assistant hired under Phillips.

[edit] Awards - collegiate

  • All-American, consensus (1998)
  • All Big-12 Conference Football - 1st team (1996-98)
  • Big 12 Conference - 10th Anniversary Team (2005)
  • Big 12 Conference - Defensive Player of the Year (1998)
  • Chuck Bednarik Award - College Defensive Player of the Year (1998)
  • Cotton Bowl - Defensive Player of the Game (1998)
  • Dallas Morning News Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year (1998)
  • Lombardi Award - Outstanding College Lineman (1998)
  • Southwest Conference Defensive Newcomer of the Year (1995)
  • Texas A&M Football Team MVP (1997)

[edit] External links

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