We knew he was going to be dominant at the next level. It was obvious when you saw how he tore up Big Ten offensive lines.
The National Football League announced today Washington Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for September. He is the first Redskins player to win the award since Chris Horton in September 2008 and the fourth overall to receive the honor (Horton, Fred Smoot in September 2001 and Champ Bailey in October 1999).
It’s getting to be a bigger week for Purdue Boilermakers fans, at least on the NFL level. Curtis Painter should start at QB for the Indianapolis Colts this week.
In the season opener against the New York Giants, Kerrigan had five tackles and returned an interception nine yards for a Redskins’ go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter. He was the first rookie linebacker since 2002 (James Allen, Sept. 8) to score a touchdown on Kickoff Weekend.
For the month, the 16th overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft registered 13 tackles (five solo), five quarterback pressures, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, two passes defensed and one interception returned for a touchdown. He’s made that transition we’ve seen so many players make in college football to the pros lately- from defensive end to the outside linebacker position. Kerrigan starts on the left side for the Redskins.
During the Redskins’ Week 2 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, Kerrigan recorded the first sack of his career and tipped a pass thrown by Kevin Kolb that was intercepted by London Fletcher in the third quarter of the 22-21 victory against the Cardinals. Both of his passes defensed this season have resulted in interceptions, with his first pass defensed occurring prior to his own interception off Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
Kerrigan, 22, played four seasons at Purdue, where he totaled 210 tackles, including 57 for loss, 33.5 sacks, 14 forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one interception and seven passes defensed. The 14 forced fumbles tied the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) record.
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