page_title: Cato June
section_title: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
hierarchical_section_title: Cato June / Professional career / Tampa Bay Buccaneers
caption_attribution_description: English: w:Cato June's first w:interception as a member of the w:Tampa Bay Buccaneers
context_page_description: Cato Nnamdi June is a former American football linebacker and high-school football coach. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League 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 that defeated the Chicago Bears. 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 football championship title as a sophomore and in two subsequent championship games. He was city champion in the triple jump as a junior.
context_section_description: June was considered to be a fast linebacker and a specialized talent with a better likelihood of success in a defensive scheme that was built around speed rather than size. On March 17, 2007, he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who used the defensive scheme designed by Dungy. The New York Giants and Colts were also interested in signing June. The contract was believed to be a three-year, $12 million agreement, but some later reports claim it was a four-year, $17 million contract.
  In Tampa, June joined a defense that had been among the top 10 in the league for a decade until the 2006 Buccaneers faltered with a 4–12 record. In 2006, they fell from 1st to 17th in team defense. When June arrived it was fairly clear that Derrick Brooks would not be changing from his weakside linebacker position and that June would be moving to strongside linebacker.  When he became a Buccaneer, he stood out for his dedication and enthusiasm.  For example, when the Colts had their Super Bowl ring ceremony, June flew to Indianapolis and back without missing any Buccaneers practice time. As strongside linebacker he beat out Ryan Nece as the 2007 Buccaneers starter, although he was considered the heir apparent to 13-year veteran and 10-time Pro Bowler Brooks at the weakside position. June again wore the #59 as a Buccaneer. Because of his weakside linebacker and safety experience, June was expected to remain in the game during passing situations unlike most strongside linebackers.  June also expected defenses to run at him because at 6 feet (1.8 m), 227 pounds (103 kg) he was small for an NFL strongside linebacker and one of the smallest linebackers in the NFL.
  June recorded an interception and touchdown return in the Buccaneers' third preseason game against the Miami Dolphins. In his first game as a Buccaneer, he did not play on many passing downs, which caused something of a controversy in the press after the opening 20–6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.  In the second game, on some passing downs June played in place of Brooks, who had never sat on the sidelines previously. Brooks, whose speed may have been slowed by father time, avoided the media after the game, but June and other teammates defended him. The press was much more amenable to having June play more and claimed that the defense was back up to its prior level of excellence with the change. Over the course of the 2007 season June and Brooks divided time at linebacker during nickel defense coverage.
  June made his first interception during his second game as a Buccaneer. It led to a touchdown scoring drive during a 31–14 victory against the New Orleans Saints. In his third game, June made a key tackle for a 3-yard loss, which resulted in a subsequent missed field goal by the St. Louis Rams. After the fourth week the Bucs were 3–1 with the NFL's fifth-rated defense and June was the team's third-leading tackler as they headed into a week five showdown against June's previous team, the 4–0 Indianapolis Colts. The Colts gained 400 yards on June and the Buccaneers in a 33–14 defeat on October 7. After the sixth week the Bucs were 4–2 and June was eighth in the NFL and second on his team in assists. After June had a team-high nine tackles and a forced fumble to lead them to a 6–4 record with a 31–7 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, he was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) in Hillsborough County, Florida, which had the most DUI cases of any county in Florida. June was one of several Bucs to be charged with DUI that season, and charges were eventually dropped. In the Atlanta game, which gave the Bucs an undefeated 3–0 division record, June was involved in a controversial fumble–lateral play, which NFL officials said the referees ruled incorrectly on. Subsequently, the Bucs raised their record to 9–5 and clinched the NFC South Division.  June and other star players were rested for large parts of the final two games, which the Bucs lost. Nonetheless, June was still injured in the final game of the season, and he was listed as inactive for the Bucs' 2007–08 NFL playoffs matchup with
caption: June's first regular season interception for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came on September 16, 2007.
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