Deltha O'Neal
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| Cincinnati Bengals — No. 24 | |
| Cornerback | |
| Date of birth: January 30, 1977 | |
| Place of birth: Palo Alto, California | |
| Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | Weight: 195 lb (88 kg) |
| National Football League debut | |
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| 2000 for the Denver Broncos | |
| Career history | |
| College: California | |
| NFL Draft: 2000 / Round: 1 / Pick: 15 | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Stats at NFL.com | |
Deltha Lee O'Neal, III (pronounced /DEL-thuh/) (born January 30, 1977 in Palo Alto, California,) is an American football player, a Pro Bowl cornerback for the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals.
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[edit] Collegiate career
O'Neal is a 1995 graduate of Milpitas High School in Milpitas, California, where he was a star running back and kick returner. Milpitas High School is also the alma mater of O'Neal's former Bengals teammate Tab Perry. He graduated from Berkeley in 2000 with a BA degree in Social Welfare. In his senior year at the University of California, O'Neal set the NCAA single-season record of 4 interceptions returned for touchdowns.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] Denver Broncos
Originally drafted out of the University of California, Berkeley by the Denver Broncos in the first round (15th overall pick) in the 2000 NFL Draft, O'Neal's rookie year was mediocre on defense, recording no interceptions. But he returned 46 kickoffs for 1,102 yards and a touchdown, and returned 34 punts for 354 yards. He was not used as a kickoff returner in his second season, but he returned 31 punts for 405 yards and recorded 9 interceptions on defense.
Due to O'Neal's speed, Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan briefly flirted with converting O'Neal to wide receiver in mid-2003. O'Neal caught just 2 passes for just 4 yards in 2 games. O'Neal was also used frequently to return punts and kickoffs on special teams in every season he played with the Broncos. While with the Broncos, O'Neal tied the record for most interceptions in a game with 4.
[edit] Cincinnati Bengals
In April, 2004, an unhappy O'Neal and the Broncos' 24th (first round) and 117th (fourth round) spots in the 2004 NFL draft were traded to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for Cincinnati's 17th spot in the first round.
In the 2005 season, O'Neal recorded 10 interceptions, breaking the previous franchise record of 9 set by Ken Riley in 1976 and tying Ty Law as the NFL's interception leader that year. He broke the record on December 18, 2005 against the Detroit Lions. The game marked the Cincinnati Bengals' first division championship since 1988
In early December 2006, O'Neal was arrested for Driving while Intoxicated [1]. In the 2007 season, O'Neal recorded 52 tackles and one interception.
[edit] External links
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