Geno Atkins Gene Renard Atkins Jr . ( born March 28 , 1988 ) is an American football defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for the University of Georgia . He was drafted by the Bengals in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft . Early years . Atkins was born in Pembroke Pines , Florida on March 28 , 1988 . He attended St . Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale helped the school be the Class AAAAA runner - ups in both 2004 and 2005 . As a junior at St . Thomas Aquinas in 2004 , Atkins had 70 tackles ( 12 resulted in lost yardage ) , one interception , and four fumble recoveries . In 2005 , during his senior season , he had 117 tackles , 7 . 5 sacks , four forced fumbles , and two fumble recoveries . Following the season , he was named First - team All - County by the " Sun - Sentinel " and " Miami Herald " , First - team Class AAAAA in the state of Florida and was also named Florida Class AAAAA Defensive player of the year . Coming out of high school he was rated as the 24th best defensive end in the nation by " Rivals . com " and 41st best by " Scout . com " . College career . Atkins played for the Georgia Bulldogs as a true freshman , recording nine tackles and 0 . 5 sacks in 11 games . In 2007 , Atkins saw significant playing time as a backup behind Kade Weston and Jeff Owens . On September 21 , Owens said of Atkins ' s impact , " Geno is doing a heck of a job . He ' s contributing a lot to the defense . He ' s leading the defensive line in tackles for loss and I think we ' re tied in tackles . " As of September 29 , despite being a backup , Atkins was fourth in the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) with six tackles for losses along with a sack . On October 6 , Atkins was named the starter over Weston and in only his second game led the team in tackles against Vanderbilt . He became the first defensive tackle to lead the team in tackles in a game since Jason Ferguson did it in 1995 and the first defensive lineman since David Pollack in 2003 . Following a game against Kentucky in which he had five tackles , he was named SEC defensive player of the week for the week of November 17 . Following , his sophomore season Atkins was named First - team All - SEC , and was the only player for Georgia other than running back Knowshon Moreno to be named to the team . During the press conference for Hawaii ' s quarterback Colt Brennan before the Sugar Bowl , Atkins asked for an autograph and took a photo with Brennan . Fellow Georgia defensive lineman Marcus Howard said of Atkins ' antics during the press conference , " He was like acting like a groupie . All of us gave him grief for that . " Despite getting Brennan ' s autograph before the game , Atkins sacked him in the fourth quarter , forcing him out of the game . Two games into the 2008 season , Atkins already had eight tackles and nine quarterback hurries . After the defense as a whole sacked Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow of Florida six times , Atkins said , " I think we rattled Tim Tebow and the offense . We wanted to pressure him . No one really works that well under pressure , not even the greatest quarterbacks . You put a little pressure on them , they ' re bound to flinch . " On November 14 against Auburn , Atkins came in on offense and was the lead blocker for Matthew Stafford on a quarterback sneak . In the Capital One Bowl on January 2 , 2009 , against Michigan State , Atkins had one tackle and two quarterback hurries . In 2009 , Atkins was listed at No . 5 on " Rivals . com ′ s " preseason defensive tackle power ranking . He was also named to the 2009 Outland Trophy watch list . Professional career . Cincinnati Bengals . Atkins was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round ( 120th overall ) in the 2010 NFL Draft . In his second season , Atkins became a full time starter and led the team in sacks with 7 . 5 , assisting the team to a 9 - 7 record and a playoff appearance . In the 2011 season he was tied for amount of sacks for a defensive tackle with Oakland ' s Tommy Kelly . Atkins was named to his first Pro Bowl in his second season as a starter after Vince Wilfork withdrew to participate in the Super Bowl . In 2012 , Atkins recorded 53 tackles , forced 4 fumbles , set a franchise record with 12 . 5 sacks , and was selected at a starter in the pro bowl as the Bengals made the playoffs for the second consecutive year . Personal . During his freshman year at the University of Georgia , Atkins learned he suffers from Sickle cell trait . He is also the son of former New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins safety Gene Atkins .