Stephen Nicholas
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Career Summary
Stephen Nicholas is a former NFL linebacker and coach who played seven seasons with Atlanta.
Nicholas entered the league as a fourth-round Falcons selection from South Florida. Buccaneers materials credit him with 101 games, 378 tackles, eight sacks and two interceptions across his Atlanta career.
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Early Life
Nicholas is a native of Jacksonville, Florida.
The Buccaneers’ coaching biography identifies Nicholas as a Jacksonville native before his South Florida and NFL career.
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College Career
Nicholas played linebacker at South Florida and finished with school records in sacks and tackles for loss.
A Buccaneers profile says Nicholas concluded his USF career as the school record holder in sacks and tackles for loss. Later South Florida record material lists his 20 career sacks second in program history.
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Path to the NFL
Atlanta selected Nicholas in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft, 109th overall.
The Falcons selected the South Florida linebacker as a fourth-round pick. He developed into a starting linebacker after beginning his career as a reserve and special-teams contributor.
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NFL Career
Nicholas played 101 games for Atlanta from 2007 through 2013.
He became a full-time starter in 2009 and was a key contributor on Falcons teams that went 13-3 in 2010 and 2012. Falcons material lists 37 starts, 227 combined tackles, four forced fumbles, three sacks and two interceptions over the 2010-13 portion of his career.
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Career Accomplishments
Nicholas recorded a career-high 97 tackles for the 2012 Falcons.
Atlanta’s 2012 team statistics list Nicholas with 97 total tackles, 72 solo tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble. That season, Falcons materials say he started all 16 games at linebacker and led the team in tackles.
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Playing Style
Nicholas brought tackling production, pass-rush ability and emotional leadership to Atlanta’s linebacker corps.
Falcons coverage described Nicholas as the emotional glue for the defense and noted his 80 tackles, three sacks and forced fumble in his first full season as a starter. He played at both strongside and weakside linebacker within the Falcons’ defense.
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Legacy
Nicholas’s record-setting South Florida career led to seven seasons as a Falcons linebacker and later coaching work.
He left USF with career school records in sacks and tackles for loss, then became a key defensive contributor for two 13-3 Falcons teams. His later coaching roles kept him connected to the game and to South Florida.
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Post-Career
Nicholas moved into football coaching after his playing career.
He spent three seasons as a defensive quality-control analyst at South Florida before joining Tampa Bay in 2018 as defensive quality-control coach. The Buccaneers also noted that he had participated in the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship during 2017 organized team activities.
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Sources for this section
21663, 00-0025496, 1983-05-01, Stephen Nicholas, Stephen, Nicholas
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