Buccaneers Feature Donte Nicholson

NORMAN, Okla. -- Read a feature on former OU safety Donte Nicholson from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

It was early in 2003 and Donte Nicholson, fresh off his second straight conference defensive MVP award at Mount San Antonio Junior College, was deliberating over where to continue his college playing career.

A white-hot juco prospect and juco transfers are part of the lifeblood of many major college programs Nicholson had narrowed the choices down to juggernauts USC and Oklahoma. A California kid, Nicholson might have seemed destined to be a Trojan, but he picked the Sooners instead, believing he would start, well, sooner.

Two years later, USC finished off a national championship season by beating Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. Wrong decision? Not for Nicholson, who was prophetic in his choice and is now perfectly aligned to continue his career on the next level.

“I just felt that I would have a better opportunity to play from the start at Oklahoma than I did at SC,” said Nicholson. “I thought I could make more of an impact there, and it worked out for me.”

Nicholson stepped right into the starting lineup on what many considered the nation's best defense, opening all 27 games during his two years in Norman. He was the Big 12's Newcomer of the Year as a junior and a first-team all-conference choice as a senior. During those 27 games, he racked up 162 tackles, eight sacks, three interceptions, 10 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

Oh, and the Sooners didn't fare too badly, either, playing in two consecutive national championship games and losing only three of those 27 games. It was a good choice for Nicholson made better by the fact that it propelled him into the NFL Draft, where he was selected in the fifth round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers...

Read Complete Article at Buccaneers.com | Nicholson Bio

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