DeAndre Levy (born March 26, 1987) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

. He played college football at

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. ...

Early years

Levy was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, where he attended Vincent High School and was a letterman in football, basketball, and track. As a senior, he recorded 84

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

, five sacks, and four forced fumbles as a linebacker and 12 receptions for 260 yards and three

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

as a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

College career

Levy played college football at

from 2005 to 2008. He finished his career with 211 tackles, 21 sacks, two interceptions, six forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and a blocked kick. In November 2006, Levy inadvertently collided with nearly 80-year-old Penn State coach

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2 ...

on the sideline during a game, fracturing Paterno's shin bone and damaging knee ligaments. Subsequent to the

Penn State child sex abuse scandal The Penn State child sex abuse scandal concerned allegations and subsequent convictions of child sexual abuse committed by Jerry Sandusky, an assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, over a period of at least fifteen years ...

, Levy now calls that incident "my proudest moment in college". In response, 21 former Penn State football players signed a letter condemning his comments. Levy was named second-team All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

in 2007. In 2008, he earned honorable mention All-Big Ten, and was also awarded the team's

Tom Wiesner Thomas N. Wiesner (February 28, 1939 – June 25, 2002), also known by his nickname "Big Dog", was an American politician and businessman. Wiesner initially played football for the Wisconsin Badgers from 1958 to 1960, before moving to Las Vegas ...

Award, given to a senior football player who most exemplifies the leadership and courage. In addition to twice winning the Big 10 Player of the Week, in 2008, he was also awarded the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week on September 13 for his performance against Fresno St.

Professional career

Levy was drafted by the Lions in the third round of the

. As a rookie, Levy started 10 of 16 games for the Detroit Lions, recording 85 tackles and an interception. In 2010, Levy was limited to only 11 games, missing Detroit's Week 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 games. For the season, Levy recorded 72 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 4 pass-breakups. In Week 14, against the eventual Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers, Levy had 8 tackles and an interception of Packers QB Matt Flynn in the endzone in a 7-3 Lions win. In Week 16, against the Miami Dolphins, Levy returned an interception of

Chad Henne Chad Steven Henne (; born July 2, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan. While there, Henne became only the second true freshman st ...

30 yards for the game-winning touchdown in a 34-27 win. In his third season in 2011, Levy started all 16 games for the Lions, recording 109 tackles, a sack, an interception, and a forced fumble. In 2012, Levy started 13 games for the Lions, recording 82 tackles, and 1 interception. In 2013, Levy started all 16 games for the Lions, recording 119 tackles, and 6 interceptions. In 2014, Levy started all 16 games for the Lions, recording 151 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 1 interception. On August 5, 2015, it was announced that Levy and the Detroit Lions agreed on a four-year extension. Levy only played 1 game in the 2015 season due to injury. In 2016, Levy's playing time was limited due to a torn meniscus he suffered at the beginning of the 2016 season. On March 9, 2017, with two years left on his contract, he was released by the Lions. He filed an injury grievance against the Lions in August.

Personal life

Levy continues to reside in the Detroit metro area with his wife Desiré, whom he met in college and married in 2017. The couple has a one-year old daughter. Levy's father-in-law is NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations, Troy Vincent and his brother-in-law, Taron Vincent, plays football at the Ohio State University. Since retiring, and while still a player, he has been an advocate for victims of sexual assault. In April 2016, DeAndre wrote a column for ''The Players' Tribune'' encouraging men and especially professional athletes to take leadership in sexual assault prevention. Not only did players respond in support of his article, but victims also reached out and shared their stories. The couple commissioned a mural in Eastern Market in 2017 to encourage survivors of sexual assault and harassment to open up about their stories. They have also led fundraising efforts for related causes and organizations, such as Enough SAID (Sexual Assault in Detroit). In 2020, Levy appeared as a guest on

Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show '' Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' name ...

's Red Table Talk, along with

Amber Rose Amber Rose Levonchuck (born October 21, 1983) is an American model and television personality. She first gained attention after she appeared in the music video for Young Jeezy and Kanye West's single " Put On". In 2008, Rose began a high-profil ...

and

Rumer Willis Rumer Glenn Willis (born August 16, 1988) is an American actress. She is the eldest daughter of actor Bruce Willis and actress Demi Moore. She has appeared in films ''Hostage'' (2005), '' The House Bunny'' (2008), '' Sorority Row'' (2009) and ''O ...

to discuss sexual consent. Levy also spoke out about the NFL's stance on the link between professional football and brain injuries in 2016, taking the NFL to task via a letter and various Instagram posts. He called for greater transparency about the risks of playing professional football, though he made it clear that he still wanted others to enjoy playing.

References

External links

Detroit Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Deandre 1987 births Living people Players of American football from Milwaukee American football linebackers Wisconsin Badgers football players Detroit Lions players