Albert Haynesworth

Albert George Haynesworth III (born June 17, 1981) is an American former football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons.

Haynesworth accounted for 150 tackles, 56 tackles for loss, six sacks, and six fumble recoveries as a junior; he followed that by tallying 110 tackles, 51 quarterback pressures, and six sacks as a senior in 1998.

He was a member of the University of Tennessee Volunteers' 1999 recruiting class.

As a student-athlete at the University of Tennessee, Haynesworth was a three-year letterman for the Tennessee Volunteers football team under head coach Phillip Fulmer.

He lined up at the right defensive tackle position next to John Henderson.

He compiled 66 tackles, five sacks, 31 quarterback pressures, 20 tackles for a loss, and nine pass deflections during his collegiate career.

He earned Sporting News Freshman All-American honors in 1999 and was named Second-team All-Southeastern Conference after his junior season.

He played college football at the University of Tennessee and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft.

Considered "potentially a brutal run-stopper" by The New York Times, Haynesworth was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the first round with the 15th overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft.

He was the fourth defensive tackle selected from a draft class considered to be loaded with talented defensive linemen.

At Tennessee's Pro Day in 2002, when he was 20 years old, Haynesworth measured at 6-feet-6 and 317 pounds, ran a 4.82 40-yard dash, and had a 39-inch vertical jump and a 9-foot, 7-inch broad jump.

He did not work out at the 2002 NFL Combine.

Haynesworth made his NFL debut in the Titans' 2002 regular season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles and had two tackles.

He made his first NFL start in Week 15 against the New England Patriots.

He finished his rookie season with 16 appearances and three starts.

He had one sack, 30 total tackles, and three passes defended.

He started in the Titans' two postseason games that year.

An incident foreshadowing future incidents with Haynesworth occurred at a Titans training camp in 2003, where Haynesworth kicked his former teammate, center Justin Hartwig, in the chest, then had to be restrained by other teammates.

In the 2003 season, Haynesworth had 2.5 sacks, 32 total tackles, four passes defended, and two fumble recoveries in 12 games and 11 starts in the regular season.

He started the Titans' two playoff games and recorded one sack and five total tackles.

In the 2004 season, Haynesworth appeared in and started ten games.

He finished with one sack, 37 total tackles, three passes defended, and two forced fumbles.

In the 2005 season, Haynesworth appeared in and started 14 games.

He finished with three sacks, 52 total tackles, one pass defended, and one forced fumble.

On October 1, 2006, in the third quarter of a game against the Dallas Cowboys, Cowboys running back Julius Jones scored on a rushing play.

During the play, Cowboys center Andre Gurode fell to the ground, and his helmet was removed by Haynesworth, who then attempted to stomp on Gurode's head, but missed.

A second stomp opened a severe wound on Gurode's forehead, narrowly missing his right eye.

Referee Jerome Boger assessed Haynesworth a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, to which Haynesworth protested by taking off his helmet and throwing it into the turf; Haynesworth was then assessed an additional 15-yard penalty and ejected.

Gurode later received 30 stitches just above and below his right eye.

After the game, Titans head coach Jeff Fisher apologized on behalf of the Titans organization to Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells.

Haynesworth was with the Titans for seven seasons, where he was one of the league's top defensive tackles between 2007 and 2008.

He received Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors during both seasons.

Haynesworth became a highly coveted free agent after his 2008 campaign, which led to him signing a seven-year, $100 million contract with the Washington Redskins.

However, Haynesworth would play only 20 games in two seasons for Washington until he was traded in 2011.

During his short time with the Redskins, he often exhibited laziness and ineffectiveness on the field.

As a result, the Redskins' acquisition of Haynesworth is considered a very bad free agent signing.

He played his final season in 2011 with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Haynesworth was born in Hartsville, South Carolina.

He attended Hartsville High School, and participated in football and track, throwing the shot put.

Following his senior season, Haynesworth was named a SuperPrep and Rivalnet All-American, and was also rated the fourth-best defensive lineman and the 14th-ranked overall player in the nation according to ESPN's Top 100, while National Recruiting Advisor rated him as the best defensive tackle in the country.