A.J. Nicholson (born June 25, 1983) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

who has played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL),

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL), and

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

(IFL). He was selected by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

in the fifth round of the

2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. He has also been a member of the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

Green Bay Blizzard The Green Bay Blizzard are a professional indoor football team based in the Green Bay metropolitan area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The franchise was founded in 2003. The Blizzard began play in the IFL in 2010, after hav ...

, and

Florida Tuskers Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Early life

Raised in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

, Nicholson was an All-American linebacker at

Mount Tabor High School Mount Tabor High School is a high school located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is part of the WS/FCS School System. School demographics During the 2010–2011 school year, there were 1,622 students enrolled at Mount Tabor. The racial ...

. As a junior, he made 170 tackles and had 23 tackles for losses. In his senior year, he registered 147 tackles. Nicholson was named a Parade All-American and to the USA Today All-USA second-team. Regarded as a four-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'', Nicholson was ranked as the No. 3 inside linebacker in his class. After official visits to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, Miami (FL),

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, and

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

—his father's alma mater—Nicholson chose to play for the Seminoles.

College career

In his

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

season, Nicholson saw action as a member of special teams as well as a backup outside linebacker behind returning starter

Kendyll Pope Kendyll Pope (born May 9, 1981) is an American former professional football linebacker who played for the Indianapolis Colts. He played college football at Florida State. Early life A native of Fort White, Florida, Pope attended Columbia Hig ...

. He had 14 unassisted tackles and nine assisted tackles, ranking 20th on the team and first among all Seminoles freshmen. His season-high five tackles came on two occasions, against Clemson and

. As a sophomore, Nicholson played in all 13 games, including three starts (

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, Wake Forest, and Notre Dame), and recorded 55 total tackles, three tackles for loss, two pass break-ups, four QB hurries, three recovered fumbles and a forced fumble. In his first career start against Duke, Nicholson recorded seven tackles, one tackle for loss and recovered two fumbles including one he returned for a touchdown. His season-best game occurred on his second career start against Wake Forest, as he tallied 12 tackles (nine solo). Following the graduation of Pope, Nicholson took over as starting weakside linebacker in his junior season. He led all Seminoles with 88 tackles on the year, and was third on the team in sacks with four. He also recorded a team-best two fumble recoveries. In the 29–7 win against

, Nicholson recorded a season-high 14 tackles and also had two tackles for loss. He registered 12 tackles, one for loss and an interception in the Seminoles victory in the

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, usually contested on or around New Year's Day. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first televise ...

against

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. During the off-season in February 2005, Nicholson was arrested for

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI) is the crime of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while one is impaired from doing so safely by the effect of either alcohol (drug), alcohol (see drunk driving) or some other drug, whether re ...

Leon County, Florida Leon County () is a County (United States), county in the Florida Panhandle, Panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. It was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population w ...

, and was later ordered to serve three days of jail time in work camp and pay a $402 fine. In June, he was arrested for resisting an officer outside of a nightclub near FSU campus, a charge that was later dropped. In his senior season, Nicholson started all 12 regular season games, leading the defense with 100 tackles including 53 unassisted. He also tied Buster Davis for third on the team in tackles for loss with 10.5. In four games of the season, he tallied double-digit tackles. Nicholson earned

Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American college football player and coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage a ...

National Defensive Player of the Week honors after a career game at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

, in which he recorded 19 tackles (17 solo) and two interceptions (including the one returned for a score). In the regular season finale at

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, Nicholson had 10 tackles and forced a fumbled. He was a

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

semifinalist and second-team All-ACC selection. Nicholson got suspended from his final college game, the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...

against

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

, after sexually assaulting a 19-year-old female at the team hotel in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

Professional career

Described as “a solid athlete with a well-rounded game,” Nicholson was projected as a mid-sixth round pick by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

''. He was drafted by the

in the fifth round of the

. In May 2006, Nicholson and former Seminoles teammate Fred Rouse were charged with stealing electronic equipment worth approximately $1,700 from the home of

Lorenzo Booker Lorenzo Adarryll Booker (born June 14, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft. He play ...

, then a junior at Florida State. Nicholson played in two games in the

2006 NFL season The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006. The season began with the reigning Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh Steelers defeati ...

, and was cut in the off-season. On November 17, 2007, he was signed to a one-year deal to play with the

of the

. He was cut on Friday, February 22, 2008. In 2011, he played for the

. Nicholson was signed by the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

of the

for the 2013 season.

Personal life

Nicholson's father,

Darrell Nicholson Darrell Nicholson (born August 23, 1959) is a former American football linebacker. After a career at North Carolina Tar Heels football, North Carolina, where he earned first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in 1980 when the Tar Heels fi ...

, played linebacker for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. Prior to being drafted by the Bengals, he was arrested on two counts of alcohol-related issues. In 2006, Nicholson was arrested for burglary.

References

External links

Florida State Seminoles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, A.J. 1983 births Living people Players of American football from Winston-Salem, North Carolina American football linebackers Florida State Seminoles football players Cincinnati Bengals players Florida Tuskers players Green Bay Blizzard players Orlando Predators players Texas Revolution players