Husain Ibn Muhammed Abdullah (born July 27, 1985) is an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 safety for the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

 of the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. He was signed by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at Washington State

Washington State Cougars football

The Washington State Cougars football team is the intercollegiate football team of Washington State University. The team is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference...

. He is the younger brother of Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

' safety Hamza Abdullah

Hamza Abdullah

Hamza Muhammad Abdullah is an American football safety. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Washington State....

.

High school

Abdullah attended Pomona High school and was most well known for his athletics. Abdullah received praise not only in basketball but in golf as well. While Abdullah loved playing basketball and golf, he decided to pursue his true passion: football. In high school, Abdullah received many honorable awards as he represented his school football team as captain. Abdullah is a defensive back and also is a contributor to the special teams unit as a kick returner. During Abdullah's sophomore year, he was awarded the team's Defensive MVP and was nominated as Rookie of the Year. During his junior year, Abdullah won the All-Inland Valley award and as a senior, Abdullah stood as the number 9 ranked safety in the west coast.

NFL career

Abdullah was an undrafted rookie who later signed with the Minnesota Vikings. He served as a backup from 2008 to 2009. Before the 2010 season he was named the starting strong safety, the competition in the offseason and preseason was thought to be between Tyrell Johnson

Tyrell Johnson (American football)

Marcellous "Tyrell" Johnson is an American football safety for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Vikings in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft...

 and Jamarca Sanford

Jamarca Sanford

Jamarca Deshaun Sanford is an American football player for the Minnesota Vikings. He was drafted by the Vikings in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft as the 231st pick...

, but Abdullah won the job.

Personal information

Abdullah is the son to Yusuf and Sa'eeda Johnwell. He lived in a very large family as he is one of twelve children. Abdullah succeeded in high school in athletics as he played basketball, golf and football. In the end he decided to pursue his football career as he accepted an offer to play for Washington State University. As a practicing Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

, Abdullah observes Ramadan

Ramadan

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...

--even during the football season.