Brian Cushing Brian Cushing ( born January 7 , 1987 ) is an American football inside linebacker for the Houston Texans of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for the University of Southern California ( USC ) . Cushing was selected in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Texans . Early years . Cushing is one of three children . His mother was born in Germany and his father was born in Bayonne , New Jersey . His brother Michael was a rugby player at Providence College , who earned 1st Team All American Honors . Cushing trained throughout his childhood in Park Ridge , New Jersey . Cushing attended Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell , New Jersey and went on to lead the Crusaders to the 2004 Group IV State Championship as a linebacker , tight end , and running back against Don Bosco Preparatory High School , providing huge plays in the 13 - 10 win . He was named " 2004 North Jersey Player of the Year " by " The Record ( Bergen County ) " . and played in the 2005 U . S . Army All - American Bowl alongside future USC teammates Patrick Turner , Rey Maualuga and Mark Sanchez . Cushing was recruited by top colleges , including Penn State , Georgia , & Notre Dame before ultimately committing to the University of Southern California . Cushing was a four year starter who also started in four Rose Bowls . Only two players have ever done this ; Archie Griffin ( two time Heisman Trophy winner ) from Ohio State University was the other . College career . Cushing attended the University of Southern California , and played for the USC Trojans football team 2005 to 2008 under head coach Pete Carroll . Cushing shared the No . 10 jersey with Trojans starting quarterback John David Booty from 2005 to 2007 . Cushing was on the 2007 preseason Phil Steele ' s All - America team and on the 2007 Bednarik Award and Lott Trophy watch lists . Cushing returned a failed onside kick attempted by Notre Dame at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a late fourth - quarter touchdown on November 25 , 2006 . On January 1 , 2007 , Cushing was named the Defensive MVP of the Rose Bowl Game , after recording 2½ sacks and forcing a third - quarter fumble that changed the momentum of the game . Cushing was named AP 2nd Team All - American as a senior despite having pedestrian statistics ( 73 tackles , 10 . 5 tackles for loss , & 3 sacks . ) . NFL scouts didn ' t admire Cushing for his stats , but for his versatility . Fast enough to play inside and outside linebacker and big and strong enough to play defensive end . Cushing was the most versatile defensive player in the draft . He also shocked NFL scouts by benching 225 lbs 30 times . Cushing was one of twelve senior USC players , including the four senior linebackers Cushing , Kaluka Maiava , Clay Matthews III and Rey Maualuga , invited to the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine . He also participated in the 2009 Senior Bowl with Maualuga , Matthews , Patrick Turner and others . Alongside fellow USC linebackers Maualuga and Matthews , he was featured on the cover of " Sports Illustrated " ' s 2009 NFL Draft Preview magazine , as all three were regarded as potential first round selections . Professional career . Houston Texans . Cushing was drafted with the 15th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans and had one of the best defensive seasons by a rookie in NFL history . He scored his first career points on October 4 , 2009 when he recorded a safety against the Oakland Raiders . The safety was the first recorded by a Texan since the 2002 season . Cushing was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 6 of the 2009 NFL Season . Cushing became the first rookie to earn the award in the season . In Week 8 , Cushing was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week again , becoming the first Texans rookie to win the award twice in one season . Cushing was also named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for November . Cushing finished tied with Ray Lewis for the AFC lead with 133 tackles & added 4 sacks , 10 pass deflections , 4 interceptions , & 2 forced fumbles . He was selected to the 2010 Pro Bowl as a starter . Cushing was one of three rookies to make it to the Pro Bowl , another being a former USC teammate ( Clay Matthews ) . On January 5 , 2010 , Cushing was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year . Cushing is the second Texan to win the award , the first being DeMeco Ryans in 2006 . On May 7 , 2010 , Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Cushing would be suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season for a positive test in September 2009 violating the NFL ' s performance - enhancing substances policy for having above normal levels of hCG , a hormone , in his system . Cushing had previously denied rumors of his using performance - enhancing substances prior to being drafted . Cushing still denies that he ever ingested or injected any performance enhancers and claimed the test result could have been from a cancerous tumor . Cushing then stated that he would undergo further medical tests to determine how hCg entered his system . On May 12 , 2010 , in a revote of the Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year award after his suspension was made public , Cushing received the most votes again , retaining his award . His second team All - Pro status from his rookie season , however , was rescinded by the AP . Cushing is the 1st player ever to have a revote , even though several other players in the NFL ' s past history have had similar violations during their rookie season . Cushing was suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season for testing positive for banned substances . In the final 12 games , he totaled 76 tackles , 1 . 5 sacks , 4 pass deflections , and 1 forced fumble . During training camp heading into the 2011 season , Cushing was told that he would be switching from outside to inside linebacker due to the new 3 - 4 defense . They believed that he would not have the quickness to get to the outside . All through high school and college Cushing was always an outside linebacker . In 2011 , the Houston Texans finished the season with a 10 - 6 record and made it to the playoffs for the first time in team history . Cushing was named Team MVP and while he wasn ' t voted to the Pro - Bowl he earned AP 2nd Team All - Pro honors after finishing the season with 114 tackles , 4 sacks , 5 pass deflections , 2 interceptions , and 2 forced fumbles . Houston Texans defensive coordinator , Wade Phillips , called Cushing a " holy phenom " and also said that " he ' s one of the best I ' ve ever coached , and I ' ve been at it a long time . " Cushing said that he will use the fact that he did not make the Pro - Bowl as " motivation and a driving force " to become better . The Texans defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 31 - 10 in the first round but were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens 20 - 13 in the Divisional Round . During the second quarter of the October 8 , 2012 Monday night Houston Texans win over the New York Jets , Cushing left the game with what appeared to be a knee injury which was later confirmed to be a torn ACL . He was placed on injured reserve , ending his 2012 season .