Cato June

Cato June

Cato Nnamdi June (born November 18, 1979) is a former American football linebacker who most recently played for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League. Since retiring from the NFL, he has become a high-school football coach. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL) in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. A 2006 Pro Bowl choice, June was a member of the Super Bowl XLI champion Colts. During the Super Bowl championship season, June was the Colts' leading tackler. In addition to his tenure with the Colts, he played in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Before becoming a professional, he played college football at Michigan and was an outstanding athlete in high school football, basketball, track and field and baseball at Anacostia High School in Washington, D.C. As a senior, he was widely regarded to be the best high school football player in the District of Columbia.

He led Anacostia to the District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletic Association (DCIAA) football championship title as a sophomore and in two subsequent championship games. He was city champion in the triple jump as a junior. As a senior, he earned all-league recognition in basketball and earned numerous honors in football, including District of Columbia Player of the year awards from Gatorade, USA Today and The Washington Post as well as a Parade All-American. He was also co-class president, salutatorian and a member of the National Honor Society.

He was widely recruited for his all-around abilities as an athlete, scholar and leader. He attracted dozens of scholarship offers but chose the University of Michigan. He was a member of the defending national champions' recruiting class, which was considered to be the best in the country. He became a starter towards the end of his redshirt freshman year, but missed the entire next season due to injury. He returned as a fourth-year junior starter. He continued starting as a safety until an injury slowed him down late in his fifth-year senior season. Despite senior season injuries, he was named as an honorable mention All-Big Ten Conferenceplayer and was chosen to play in the Senior Bowl.

June spent a year on special teams before becoming a starter during the 2004 NFL season. During the 2005 NFL season, he began the year with a record-setting rate of interceptions for a linebacker to help his team start out 13–0 and head to the 2005–06 NFL playoffs. He was a Pro Bowler that year and finished seventh in the NFL in tackles the next as the Colts won Super Bowl XLI. After four seasons with the Colts, he signed with the Buccaneers where he became the first person to displace 11-time Pro Bowler Derrick Brooks from the lineup. After two seasons with the Buccaneers, he signed with the Houston Texans but broke his forearm during 2009 training camp and was released before the regular season. He signed with the Bears in the middle of the season only to be released after 2 weeks.