Stevenson Ellis Sylvester (born July 18, 1988) is a former

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

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 ...

. 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 the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

. He was selected by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

in the fifth round of the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

Early life

Sylvester was born to parents Worrel Sylvester and Angela Levi in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. His mother played college basketball for the

Southern Utah University Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah, United States. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now has over 1,800 graduates each year with baccalaureate and other graduate degrees from its ...

for four years. As a senior at Valley High School in Las Vegas, Sylvester was not highly recruited. The only school that made a scholarship offer, the

, only began recruiting Sylvester midway during his senior year.Utah's gamble pays off with Sylvester
August 27, 2009.

College career

As a true freshman in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, Sylvester started in 3 games, but saw action in 10. He ended his freshman season with 23 tackles, 1.5 for loss, 0.5 sacks, one pass defensed, one 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 ...

and an

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 ...

which he returned 45 yards for a

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 ...

. 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 ...

, Sylvester played in all 13 games, starting 8. He was second on the team in tackles and tackles for loss with 86 and 10 respectively. He had his best game of the year against his home town

UNLV Rebels The UNLV Rebels are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Footb ...

with 14 tackles 2.5 for a loss. He ended the year with 6 tackles in the bowl game against Navy and Honorable Mention All- MWC and helped lead the Utes to an eventual 9-4 record. Sylvester was named as one of the defensive captains in his junior year and helped lead the 2008 Utes to a 13–0 record and a final ranking of No. 2 in the BCS rankings. Sylvester was named second-team All- MWC with 121 tackles, 16 for loss and 7.5 sacks. He finished the season with a remarkable performance in the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

, with 7 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 interception and a fumble recovery.

Professional career

2010 NFL Draft

After a strong junior season, Stevenson Sylvester was projected to go in the second round of the 2010 draft. However, his draft stock dropped after his senior season statistics failed to meet expectations, and he was selected by the Steelers in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On August 25, 2013, he was cut by the Steelers. He was re-signed on October 9, 2013, when the Steelers released linebacker Kion Wilson.

Buffalo Bills

On July 16, 2014, he was signed by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. On August 20, 2014, Sylvester was placed on injured reserved for a torn patellar tendon in his knee, ending his season.

References

External links

TwitterSteelers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sylvester, Stevenson 1988 births Living people Players of American football from Las Vegas American football linebackers Utah Utes football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Buffalo Bills players