Dwight Larte Lowery (born January 23, 1986) 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

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

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 was selected by the

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

in the fourth round of the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

. 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

San Jose State Spartans The San Jose State Spartans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San José State University. SJSU sports teams compete in the Mountain West Conference at the NCAA Division I level, with football competing in the Football Bowl S ...

Early life

Lowery attended Soquel High School in

Soquel, California Soquel (; Ohlone: ''Sokel'') is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, located on the northern coast of Monterey Bay. The population was 9,980 at the 2020 census. History ''Osocalis'' was th ...

where he was an All Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the Knights during his senior year. Lowery broke the school's scoring record for a single season (25

touchdown 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 ...

s) and the County's single game scoring record (7 TD; 5

rushing Rushing means a sudden forward motion, or a surge or onslaught. Rushing may refer to: Tactics * Rush (gridiron football), advancing the ball by running on offense. On defense, charging the quarterback or kicker is a pass rush. * Human wave atta ...

, 1 receiving and a returned

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, 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 ...

for the games final he earned All-League defensive back his junior and senior year having 20 interceptions in 20 games. Lowery also played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and was a 3-year starter on the varsity squad. He earned league

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

honors his junior year, and lead his team into the

Central Coast Section The Central Coast Section (CCS) is the governing body of public and private high school athletics in the portion of California encompassing San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Monterey County, San Benito County, Santa Cruz County and a few pr ...

Playoffs.

College career

Cabrillo College

Lowery previously attended

Cabrillo College Cabrillo College is a public community college in Aptos, California. It is named after the conquistador Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo and opened in 1959. Cabrillo College has an enrollment of about 9,700 students per term. Facilities Classes are of ...

Aptos, California Aptos (Ohlone for "The People") is an unincorporated town in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The town is made up of several small villages, which together form Aptos: Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, Aptos Village, Cabrillo, Seacliff, ...

where he played

Free Safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...

and

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

for the Seahawks. During Lowery's Freshman season at Cabrillo College, he received All State defensive back honors and lead California in INTs (9). His Sophomore season was cut short with a hand injury but he still managed four more interceptions in the games following the injury. He left Cabrillo with 13 picks in 15 games. He also led the state in return yards in 2004.

San Jose State

Lowery was a two-time

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

selection AFCA and

FWAA The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

All-America

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

. Lowery led the nation in 2006 with 9 interceptions. In his senior season at San Jose State University Lowery recorded 4 interceptions and was named to the all- WAC team in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. In the post-season 83rd

East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

, Lowery had 2 interceptions. Lowery had applied for a draft grade from the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

's advisory committee following the 2006 season but decided that he would return in 2007 for his Senior season at SJSU.

Awards and honors

*Named to the 2007 ''

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'' All-American Team. *Named to the 2006 and 2007 AFCA All-America Team *Named to the 2007 Scout.com All-America Third-team *Earned All- WAC first-team Honors in 2007 *Became the first player in San Jose State University history to be named an All-American in back-to-back years. *Named to 83rd East-West Shrine All-Star Game in 2008

Professional career

New York Jets

Impressed with Lowery's versatility and ball skills, the

drafted him in the fourth round (113th overall) of the

as a cornerback/safety. An injury to cornerback Justin Miller would see Lowery debut in his first NFL game against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

; Lowery performed modestly with four tackles and three passes defensed. Lowery was named to the NFL's mid-season all-rookie team for his efforts on defense however in November, Lowery was benched in favor of veteran

Ty Law Tajuan Edward "Ty" Law (born February 10, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football f ...

. In spite of the benching, Lowery continued to improve and contribute as a backup cornerback earning the praise of his head coach

Eric Mangini Eric Anthony Mangini (born January 19, 1971) is an American former professional football coach and current television sports analyst. He served as a head coach for the New York Jets from 2006 to 2008 and the Cleveland Browns from 2009 to 2010. ...

and his teammates. In 2009, Lowery continued to contribute as a backup and would finish the season with 24 tackles, 9 passes defensed and 3 interceptions. In 2010, Lowery would record his first career touchdown, intercepting

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 cons ...

on a play that would seal the Jets' victory over the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

Jacksonville Jaguars

Lowery was traded to the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

for an undisclosed draft pick on September 3, 2011. In his first game with Jacksonville, Lowery intercepted a

Matt Hasselbeck Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Seattle Seahawks. He played college football for t ...

pass to seal a Jaguar victory. On March 13, 2012, Lowery agreed to a four-year extension with the Jaguars. He was placed on season-ending injured reserve on December 22, 2012. In week 2 of the 2012 season during the Jaguars home opener loss to the Houston Texans, Lowery tackled a fan who ran onto the

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

. Lowery's 2013 season ended when he was placed on injured reserve on October 8. He was released from injured reserve on November 4.

Atlanta Falcons

Lowery signed with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

on April 8, 2014. Lowery helped contribute to a struggling Atlanta Falcons defense in 2014. Lowery replaced old Atlanta Falcons Free Safety Thomas Decoud and did an outstanding job.

Indianapolis Colts

Lowery signed with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

on April 3, 2015.

San Diego Chargers

On March 9, 2016, Lowery signed a three-year contract with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

. Lowery was signed to fill any empty void previously filled by All-Pro safety

Eric Weddle Eric Steven Weddle (born January 4, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the San Diego Chargers. He was a five-time All-Pro and six-time P ...

. On September 2, 2017, Lowery was released by the Chargers.

NFL statistics

Post-playing career

In 2018, Lowery was named the head football coach at Soquel High School, his alma mater.

Personal life

Lowery was born to Tracy Rivers who raised him as single mother. Lowery has six other siblings, including a sister, Aujanae. Lowery is married to his wife, Ashley Lowery.

References

External links

San José State Spartans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowery, Dwight 1986 births Living people Players of American football from Santa Cruz, California American football cornerbacks American football safeties Cabrillo Seahawks football players San Jose State Spartans football players New York Jets players Jacksonville Jaguars players Atlanta Falcons players Indianapolis Colts players San Diego Chargers players Los Angeles Chargers players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen