Brian Cushing
Encyclopedia
Houston Texans
Cushing was drafted with the 15th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft2009 NFL Draft
The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft consisted of two rounds on the first day starting at 4:00...
by the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
He scored his first career points on October 4, 2009 when he recorded a safety against the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The safety was the first recorded by a Texan since the 2002 season.
Cushing was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 6 of the 2009 NFL Season
2009 NFL season
The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at...
. Cushing became the first rookie to earn the award in the season. In Week 8, Cushing was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week again, becoming the first Texans rookie to win the award twice in one season. Cushing was also named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for November.
Cushing finished tied with Ray Lewis for the AFC lead with 134 tackles and was selected to the 2010 Pro Bowl
2010 Pro Bowl
The 2010 AFC–NFC Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2009 season. It took place at 8:00 PM EST on Sunday, January 31, 2010, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site of Super Bowl XLIV...
as a starter. Cushing was one of three rookies to make it to the Pro Bowl, another being a former USC teammate.
On January 5, 2010, Cushing was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Cushing is the second Texan
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
to win the award, the first being DeMeco Ryans
DeMeco Ryans
DeMeco Ryans is an American football linebacker in the NFL for the Houston Texans. He played college football at the University of Alabama.- High school career :...
in 2006.
On May 7, 2010, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Cushing would be suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season for a positive test in September 2009 violating the NFL's performance-enhancing substances policy for having above normal levels of hCg, a hormone, in his system. Cushing had previously denied rumors of his using performance-enhancing substances prior to being drafted. Cushing still denies that he ever ingested or injected any performance enhancers and claimed the test result could have been from a cancerous tumor. Cushing then stated that he would undergo further medical tests to determine how hCg entered his system.
On May 12, 2010, in a revote of the Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year award after his suspension was made public, Cushing received the most votes again, retaining his award. His second team All-Pro status from his rookie season, however, was rescinded by the AP. Cushing is the 1st player ever to have a revote, even though several other players in the NFL's past history have had similar violations during their rookie season.[33]
NFL awards and honors
- 2x AFC Defensive Rookie of the Month (November 2009 & December 2009)
- 2x AFC Defensive Player of the Week (2009 weeks 6 & 8)
- 2009 AFC Defensive Player of the Month of November
- 2009 Pro Bowl selection (starter)
- 2009 All-Rookie Selection (Sporting News, Pro Football Writers Association)
- 2009 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year