Curtis Lofton

Curtis Tremayne Lofton (born June 2, 1986) is a former American football inside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Oklahoma, and earned All-American honors. Lofton was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He also played for the New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders.

Curtis Lofton
refer to caption
Lofton with the Oakland Raiders in 2015
No. 50
Position:Inside linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1986-06-02) June 2, 1986
Kingfisher, Oklahoma, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:238 lb (108 kg)
Career information
High school:Kingfisher (OK)
College:Oklahoma
NFL Draft:2008 / Round: 2 / Pick: 37
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:948
Sacks:8.0
Forced fumbles:11
Fumble recoveries:5
Interceptions:3
Defensive touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Lofton was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. He attended Kingfisher High School, where he was a standout player for the Kingfisher Yellowjackets high school football team. A three-year letterman and starter, he also played fullback. He led his team in tackles with 168 during his senior year and 505 over his career, helping lead his team to the 3A state championship in 2003 and helping them advance to the semifinals in 2004. Curtis was coached during high school, including his junior year where he led Kingfisher to its first state championship, by Rick Vancleave, Stan Blundell, Mark Redwine, Larry Hart, and Doug Jech. He rushed for 12 touchdowns as a senior. Lofton was a Parade first-team All-American (2004), The Oklahoman All-State (2004), first-team coaches All-state 2004 and also nominated for the March of Dimes Oklahoma Headliners Banquet as one of the top scholar-athletes in the state of Oklahoma.

Lofton also competed on the track & field team, where he was a 100-meter dash state runner up, running a personal-best of 10.73 seconds, and was also a starter on the basketball team.

Recruiting

Lofton was ranked as the No. 8 inside linebacker in the nation (ESPN.com), No. 2 in the Midlands (SuperPrep and Scout.com), No. 9 linebacker in the nation (Scout.com), No. 2 player in Oklahoma (Scout.com), No. 4 inside LB in the nation (Rivals.com) and No. 62 player in the nation (Rivals.com). He went to Oklahoma to play college football with the Sooners.

College career

Lofton attended the University of Oklahoma, where he played for coach Bob Stoops's Oklahoma Sooners football team from 2005 to 2007.

2005

Lofton saw spot duty at middle linebacker, but got most of his action on the Sooners' special teams.

2006

Lofton totaled five tackles and one tackle for loss in the 2006 Big 12 Championship Game against Nebraska . He closed out the year with four solo tackles and a 14-yard kickoff return against Boise State in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl he also recovered a fumble and was ranked second on the team in special teams tackles with 10. He finished the season with 14 games played and recorded 37 tackles (20 solo), 4.5 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.

2007

Lofton earned first-team All-American honors from The NFL Draft Report, Football Writers Association of America, Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News adding second-team accolades from the Associated Press.[1] He totaled 157 tackles, which ranked third in the nation, three interceptions, 10 tackles for loss and one sack while compiling eight games of at least 10 tackles, and added first-team All-Big 12 Conference recognition from the league coaches and was selected as the Associated Press Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.[2] His 11.2 tackles per game ranked seventh nationally and second in the conference.

Was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week by his performance against Utah State after recording 12 tackles and one interception which was returned 45 yards for a touchdown and also credited for 16 tackles and one pass defensed at Colorado . In the 2007 Big 12 Championship Game, Lofton picked off a Chase Daniel pass and returned it 26 yards to the Tiger 7-yard line. The Sooner offense cashed in the takeaway with a touchdown to expand OU lead to 28-14. The play tipped the momentum and Oklahoma cruised in with a 38-17 triumph.

Lofton announced on January 14, 2008 that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2008 NFL Draft.[3]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeight40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 0 in
(1.83 m)		 246 lb
(112 kg)		 4.67 s1.55 s2.65 s4.54 s7.52 s32 in
(0.81 m)		9 ft 4 in
(2.84 m)		23 reps
All values from NFL Combine and Pro Day

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons selected Lofton in the second round (37th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft. Lofton was the third linebacker drafted in 2008.[4]

Lofton became a starter in his rookie 2008 season and ranked fourth on the team with 94 tackles (67 solo). Since 2010, Curtis Lofton led the team in tackles and had been an integral part of the defense.

New Orleans Saints

Lofton signed with the New Orleans Saints on March 24, 2012 with a 5-year deal, worth up to $27.5 million.[5] Lofton led the Saints in tackles in the 2012 season (123) and also recorded one sack, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.[6] He was expected to start at one of the ILB spots in the Saints 3-4 defense in the 2013 season.[7] Lofton was released by the Saints on March 9, 2015.

Oakland Raiders

Lofton signed with the Oakland Raiders on March 11, 2015.[8]

The Raiders released him on March 11, 2016.[9]

Retirement

On September 12, 2017, Curtis Lofton officially announced his retirement from the NFL on hobhsports.com.[10] The article, "Just a Kid from Kingfisher: The Story of Curtis Lofton," was written by his lifelong friend, Adam Arms.[11]

NFL statistics
YearTeamGPCOMBSOLOASTSACKFFFRFR YDSINTIR YDSAVG IRLNGTDPD
2008ATL169467271.0100000003
2009ATL16133105280.0200000002
2010ATL1611893252.0300122203
2011ATL1614787601.0110230152617
2012NO1612382411.0220000007
2013NO1612582432.0100000004
2014NO16145100450.0110000001
2015OAK166445191.0010000000
Career1289496612888.011503321126127

[12]

Key

  • GP: games played
  • COMB: combined tackles
  • SOLO: solo tackles
  • AST: assisted tackles
  • SACK: sacks
  • FF: forced fumbles
  • FR: fumble recoveries
  • FR YDS: fumble return yards
  • INT: interceptions
  • IR YDS: interception return yards
  • AVG IR: average interception return
  • LNG: longest interception return
  • TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
  • PD: passes defensed

References
  1. All-American: Curtis Lofton Archived December 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Lofton Grabs POY Honors Archived November 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Sooners junior linebacker Lofton declares for draft
  4. "2008 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  5. "Curtis Lofton".
  6. "Curtis Lofton Stats, News, Bio".
  7. "New Orleans Saints LB Curtis Lofton restructures his contract".
  8. Wilkening, Mike (March 11, 2015). "Raiders reach deals with Dan Williams, Curtis Lofton". Pro Football Talk. NBCSports.com. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  9. Bair, Scott (March 11, 2016). "Raiders cut veteran LB Curtis Lofton". CSNBayArea.com. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  10. Arms, Adam (September 12, 2017). "Just a Kid from Kingfisher, Oklahoma: The Story of Curtis Lofton | HOBH". HOBHSports. Archived from the original on September 13, 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  11. "Adam Arms (@Adam_Arms) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  12. "Curtis Lofton Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
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