Lonnie Ballentine (born April 23, 1993) 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
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
with the final pick (256th overall) of the
2014 NFL draft
The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...
, making him
Mr. Irrelevant for 2014. 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 ...
at
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Mem ...
.
Early life
Ballentine graduated from Southwind High School early as a junior. As a junior, he had 45 tackles, 6 interceptions and 12 pass breakups. He only played 1 year of varsity football. He 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 ran
track in high school.
College career
In his freshman year in 2010, Ballentine had 13 tackles and 2 pass breakups while starting 1 game. His sophomore season he had 28 tackles and 1 pass breakup while starting several games and having 2 tackles for loss. His Junior season he had 3 interceptions and 66 total tackles to go with 5 pass breakups. He also was an All
C-USA
Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern United States, Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Associ ...
Honorable Mention that year as well. His Senior season, he was a preseason 4th team All C-USA selection and finished the year with 58 tackles and 5 pass breakups during the year while starting all 12 games.
Professional career
Ballentine did not attend the
NFL Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...
but was selected with the final pick, 256th overall, of the
2014 NFL draft
The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...
. He signed a 4-year, $2.27 million contract with the Texans.
On August 30, 2016, Ballentine was placed on
reserve/PUP to start the 2016 season. He was activated to the active roster on October 22, 2016. On November 12, Ballentine was placed on injured reserve.
On September 2, 2017, Ballentine was waived/injured by the Texans and placed on injured reserve. He was released on September 8, 2017.
References
External links
Memphis Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballentine, Lonnie
1993 births
Living people
Players of American football from Memphis, Tennessee
American football safeties
Memphis Tigers football players
Houston Texans players
21st-century American sportsmen