# Kentwan Balmer

Kentwan Balmer (born October 15, 1986) is an American football coach and former player who is a defensive line coach for the Hampton Pirates. He played professionally as a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). Balmer played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels before being selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft with the 29th overall pick. He was also a member of the Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers, and Washington Redskins.

## College career

Balmer started all twelve games at right defensive tackle as a senior, ranking second on the team with 59 tackles (33 solos), including 3.5 sacks for minus 26 yards, 9.5 stops for losses of 44 yards and twenty four quarterback pressures. In 2005, he played 11 games with three starts and 17 tackles (5 for a loss) and one sack. As a freshman, he played in nine games and made one tackle.

## Professional career

Pre-draft measurables :
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
| 6 ft 4+1⁄2 in (1.94 m) | 308 lb (140 kg) | 5.11 s | 1.80 s | 2.99 s | 4.82 s | 7.65 s | 29 in (0.74 m) | 8 ft 7 in (2.62 m) | 33 reps |
| 40-yard dash (and splits) and vertical from UNC Pro Day; others from NFL Combine ||||||||||

### San Francisco 49ers

Balmer was selected in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft, 29th overall. He was originally drafted as a DT but was moved to DE due to the Niners 3-4 defensive scheme.
On December 9, 2009, Balmer was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. The 49ers later signed Baraka Atkins to take over his position.

### Seattle Seahawks

Balmer was traded to the Seattle Seahawks on August 16, 2010 in exchange for a sixth round pick in a future NFL Draft. He was waived on August 24, 2011.

### Carolina Panthers

On August 25, Balmer was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers. However, he was waived on September 1.

### Washington Redskins

Balmer signed with the Washington Redskins on November 8, 2011. On August 2, 2012, it was reported that he did not show up to training camp two days in a row and his agent has not replied to any inquiries as to Balmer's whereabouts. It was assumed that, Balmer left the team after Redskins officials checked his hotel room and saw that all of Balmer's personal effects were gone. Head coach Mike Shanahan announced that the team had finally made contact with Balmer on August 11, but did not explain the reason for his disappearance or his future with the Redskins.
Nearly two years after he walked away from the team, the Redskins officially terminated his contract on May 30, 2014.

### NFL statistics

| Year | Team | GP | COMB | TOTAL | AST | SACK | FF | FR | FR YDS | INT | IR YDS | AVG IR | LNG | TD | PD |
| 2008 | SF | 16 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2009 | SF | 11 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | SEA | 16 | 43 | 28 | 15 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Career | | 43 | 62 | 39 | 23 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |

## Personal life

Balmer went to Weldon High School in Weldon, North Carolina, where he played a variety of sports and which is where he decided to go back to and retired his jersey.
Balmer grew up rooting for the 49ers and his father, Charles Balmer, was a 49ers fan.