Dat Nguyen Dat Tan Nguyen ( ; , ) ( born September 25 , 1975 ) is a sports radio host and former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League ( NFL ) for seven seasons . He played college football for Texas A & M University , and earned All - American honors . He played professionally for the NFL ' s Dallas Cowboys , became the first Vietnamese - American to play in the NFL , and was recognized as an All - Pro . Early years . Nguyen ' s family left South Vietnam during the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War , and he was born in a refugee center at Fort Chaffee in Fort Smith , Arkansas . He lived most of his childhood in the Gulf Coast town of Rockport , Texas . At Rockport - Fulton High School , Nguyen played middle linebacker and handled punting duties . Nguyen earned All - State honors as a punter . Nguyen was recruited and received scholarship offers from Michigan , UCLA , Notre Dame , Texas and Florida . Nguyen eventually decided to play closer to home and chose Texas A & M University . College career . Nguyen attended Texas A & M University , where he played for the Texas A & M Aggies football team from 1995 to 1998 . He battled the perception that he was too small to play linebacker for as long as he was involved in the game of football , despite his muscular 5 ' 11 " , 238 - pound frame . Proving critics wrong at an early stage , he finished his college career as the Aggies ' career record holder with 51 consecutive starts , 517 career tackles and a 10 . 7 tackles - per - game average . His 517 career tackles is a Texas A & M record . He is the only Aggie to ever lead the school in tackles for four consecutive years . It is widely acknowledged that Nguyen was the undisputed on - field leader of the famous " Wrecking Crew " defense , as well as being its most famous and decorated player . In 1995 , he was named Southwest Conference Defensive Newcomer of the Year . From 1996 to 1998 , he earned first - team All - Big 12 honors three consecutive times . In 1997 , he was named Aggies MVP . In 1998 , he was named a consensus All - American by every awarding publication , won the Bednarik Award for College Defensive Player of the Year and the Lombardi Award for Outstanding College Lineman . Nguyen was also selected as a finalist for the Butkus Award eventually becoming first runner - up . Nguyen missed winning the Butkus Award by a single vote out of more than 45 votes cast . It remains to date the closest vote in Butkus Award history . He was named Defensive Player of the Game for the 1998 Cotton Bowl after recording a bowl record 12 tackles , including 3 tackles for a loss , and an interception , which he lateraled to a teammate for a touchdown . " Dallas Morning News " named him Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year in 1998 , and he earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in the Big 12 Conference . He also won the Jack Lambert Award in 1998 . In 2005 he was named to the Big 12 Conference ' s 10th Anniversary Team . In 2010 , he was voted on to the AP All - Time Big 12 Team tying with former University of Texas player Derrick Johnson for most votes at linebacker ( 19 out of 20 . ) Nguyen is generally acknowledged as the best defensive player in Texas A & M football history and one of the greatest defensive players of all - time in the history of the Big 12 Conference . In 2004 , Nguyen was inducted in the Texas A & M Athletics Hall Of Fame . In April 2007 , Nguyen was also inducted into the AT & T Cotton Bowl Hall Of Fame . Nguyen was most recently inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame on February 27 , 2014 . Professional career . Dallas Cowboys . The Dallas Cowboys drafted Nguyen in the third round ( 85th overall ) of the 1999 NFL Draft . Nguyen made an impact with the Cowboys from the very beginning , leading the team in special - teams stops as a rookie and becoming Dallas ' starting middle linebacker in his second season . In 2001 , he completed his first full season as a starting NFL middle linebacker and recorded 112 tackles . In 2003 , with Nguyen leading the team in tackles , the Cowboys were the most effective defense in the NFL by a very wide margin ; he was selected second - team All - Pro by the " Associated Press " . Nguyen officially retired from the NFL on March 3 , 2006 after a neck injury , which hindered his 2005 performance , failed to improve . He led the team in tackles three times , in 2001 , 2003 , and 2004 , and amassed 516 tackles in seven seasons , despite missing half of two separate seasons to injury . As of November 2010 , Dat Nguyen currently ranks 10th all - time in Cowboys recorded history for career total tackles . For his NFL career he was named to the 2013 class of Texas Gridiron Legends . Coaching career . Dallas Cowboys . In February 2007 , Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips announced the hiring of Nguyen as assistant linebackers coach and defensive quality control coach . Along with Phillips ' son Wes , Nguyen was the first assistant hired under Phillips . Nguyen left the Cowboys on January 27 , 2010 . Texas A & M . Nguyen was named the inside linebackers coach at Texas A & M University on February 12 , 2010 . In Nguyen ' s first year as the A & M inside linebackers coach , the Aggies went 9 - 3 in the regular season with wins over nationally ranked Oklahoma and Nebraska as well as wins over Texas and Texas Tech . This marked the first time in school history that A & M had beaten all four of those teams in a single season . The resurgence of the Texas A & M defense to its former glory as " The Wrecking Crew " and particularly the outstanding play of the linebacker corps has been cited as a major reason for the team ' s 2010 season success . Nguyen helped cement linebacker Von Miller ' s status in Texas A & M history by coaching him in the 2010 season which led to Miller being awarded the 2010 Butkus Award . At the conclusion of the 2011 season , Dat Nguyen chose to leave Texas A & M , telling the Houston Chronicle ' s Brent Zwerneman that there was " no chance " of him being retained on Kevin Sumlin ' s staff . After football . In 2012 , Nguyen became co - host with Jasson Minnix of an afternoon sports talk program on KZDC in San Antonio . Personal . Nguyen married his college sweetheart , Becky , and they have three daughters . In May 2004 , Nguyen was awarded a Golden Torch Award at the Vietnamese American National Gala in Washington , D . C . He was also featured in HBO ' s " Hard Knocks " .