DeAndre Levy (born March 26, 1987) 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 ...

player who was a

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 ...

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). 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 ...

for the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

, and was selected by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in the third round of the 2009 NFL draft.

Early life

Levy was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 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 tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, five sacks, and four forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

s as a linebacker and 12 receptions for 260 yards and three

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

as a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

College career

Levy played

for the

from 2005 to 2008. He finished his career with 211 tackles, 21 sacks, two

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

, 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 football, Penn ...

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 year ...

, 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 in 2007. In 2008, he earned honorable mention All-Big Ten, and was also awarded the team's Tom Wiesner 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 selected by the Lions in the third round of the 2009 NFL draft. As a rookie, Levy started 10 of 16 games for the

, 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 former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines foo ...

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

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.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

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 two children. Levy's father-in-law is NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations, Troy Vincent and his brother-in-law, Taron Vincent, played 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, businesswoman, and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show ''Red Table Talk'', for which she has won a Daytime Emmy Awards, Daytim ...

's ''Red Table Talk'', along with

Amber Rose Amber Rose Levonchuck (born October 21, 1983) is an American model and television personality. She gained attention after she starred in the music video for Young Jeezy's 2008 single " Put On", which featured Kanye West. She began a romantic re ...

and Rumer Willis 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