Duke Ihenacho Duke Uba Ihenacho ( born June 26 , 1989 ) is an American football safety currently on the practice squad of the National Football League team Denver Broncos . He played college football at San Jose State . Early life . Born in Torrance , California , Ihenacho grew up in Carson , California and graduated from Junípero Serra High School at Gardena in 2007 . He is of Nigerian descent . Although Ihenacho ' s mother did not allow Duke Ihenacho to play Pop Warner football , Duke Ihenacho joined the Serra High School football team in junior year after playing basketball and baseball most of his childhood . College career . At San Jose State University , Ihenacho played five seasons with the Spartans football team under coaches Dick Tomey ( 2007 to 2009 ) and Mike MacIntyre ( 2010 to 2011 ) and majored in business marketing . Ihenacho played on the team with his older brother Carl Ihenacho until 2009 . Ihenacho entered the Spartans in 2007 as the youngest player on the team and ended the year with 32 tackles , the most for a San Jose State freshman since 2004 . On September 29 , Ihenacho made the only blocked punt in a win against UC Davis . Following the blocked punt , quarterback Adam Tafralis made a 47 - yard touchdown pass . Ihenacho made a season - high seven tackles on October 12 against Hawaii and forced a fumble in that game as well . San Jose State ended 2007 with a 5 - 7 record ( 4 - 4 in Western Athletic Conference games ) . In 2008 , ESPN ranked Carl and Duke Ihenacho as one of the top ten brother combinations in college football for being among the top defensive players in FBS football . By mid - October 2008 , Duke led the FBS in interceptions . In both the October 11 game against Utah State and October 18 game against New Mexico State , Ihenacho scored a 43 - yard touchdown off an interception . Ihenacho ' s two interceptions in the Utah State game marked the only such time in the 2008 season . Ihenacho played as a linebacker in 2008 and was a first - team All - Western Athletic Conference ( WAC ) selection . San Jose State finished 2008 one game up from 2007 , 6 - 6 ( but still 4 - 4 in WAC ) . However , San Jose State finished the 2009 season 2 - 10 ( 1 - 7 WAC ) . In 2009 , Ihenacho made 89 tackles , the second - most in the team that year , and tied his individual game high of 12 on October 10 against Idaho and November 21 against Hawaii . San Jose State football coach Dick Tomey retired after 2009 , and Mike MacIntyre became the new head coach . In MacIntyre ' s first season , the Spartans finished 1 - 11 ( 0 - 8 WAC ) . Ihenacho played only in two games of 2010 before a season - ending injury . 2011 was a better season for the San Jose State Spartans , who finished 5 - 7 ( 3 - 4 WAC ) . Ihenacho made 73 tackles in 2011 , the third - most in the team , and led the team in deflected passes with six . Ihenacho made his third career touchdown on October 1 with a 20 - yard fumble return against Colorado State . That was also the first fumble returned for a touchdown by a San Jose State player since 2004 . In four games , Ihenacho made 10 or more tackles , including a season high 11 each against Idaho and Utah State . On October 14 , 2011 , San Jose State rallied in its homecoming game to beat Hawaii 28 - 27 . ESPN carried that game as part of " College Football Friday Primetime " . With San Jose State down 27 - 20 in the fourth quarter , Ihenacho recovered a blocked point after touchdown and took the ball to the end zone for a defensive two - point conversion . San Jose State won despite five turnovers . Geico nominated Ihenacho ' s conversion as the company ' s Play of the Year . Ihenacho earned his third first - team All - WAC selection in 2011 . Professional career . Pre - draft . Ihenacho was considered one of the top strong safeties and a projected 5th round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft . Denver Broncos . Ihenacho signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent following the 2012 NFL Draft . Ihenacho played all four games of the 2012 preseason and made seven tackles during the preseason . The Broncos signed Ihenacho to the practice squad on September 1 and activated Ihenacho from the practice squad on September 29 , 2012 . On October 11 , 2012 , The Broncos cut Duke Ihenacho . They later signed him back to the practice squad on October 13 and to the active roster again on November 1 . Ihenacho made one assisted tackle in his second game of the season , November 4 ( Week 9 ) in a win over the Cincinnati Bengals . On November 13 , 2012 , he was waived by the Broncos . Three days later , the Broncos re - signed Ihenacho to the practice squad .