1/8/2010 1:42:49 PM
Cincinnati, Ohio----The National Football League play-offs begin this weekend, starting with the 4:30 pm game on Saturday afternoon between the fifth-seeded New York Jets and fourth-seeded Cincinnati Bengals. The game features two of the top five defenses in the NFL and two former All-Americans at Wingate University. A defensive back for the Bengals, David Jones is a part of the number four defensive unit in the league. A linebacker for the Jets, Kenwin Cummings is on the number one defense in the NFL. This week marks the second straight week the teams have met, as the Jets crushed the Bengals 37-0 in New York to clinch the wild-card on Jan. 3.
Jones was originally drafted by the New Orleans Saints (2007 fifth round, 145th pick), but was cut before the season began. The Bengals signed him a day later and Jones is finishing his third season with the team. Jones is making his first play-off appearance. He is second on the depth chart for the Bengals secondary, which is considered to be one of the best in the entire NFL. In the game last week against the Jets, Jones made the tackle on the opening kick-off. After the game was well in hand for the Jets, the Greenville, S.C. native played a good portion of the second half, making another tackle and recording a pass deflection.
Jones missed the first four games of the season due to a foot fracture. Following his return, he has registered at least one tackle in the last five games. Last season, Jones started seven games, piling up 43 tackles and six pass deflections.
A graduate of Greenville High School, Jones played in the 2007 Hula Bowl following his illustrious Wingate career. In 2006, Jones was named a first team AFCA All-American after recording 24 tackles, four interceptions and 12 pass deflections. Jones also caught two passes, both resulting in touchdowns. He blocked a punt on special teams.
Cummings was undrafted out of Wingate, but signed a free-agent contract with the Jets in May, 2008. He was waived four months later and signed with the practice squad. After signing to the practice squad in September 2009, Cummings fulfilled the dream and was named to the active roster in November.
Currently, starting linebacker David Harris has been very limited during the week of practice and his status is uncertain. If Harris is unable to play, all indications point to Cummings becoming a big part of the defense and possibly starting Saturday.
Jets head coach Rex Ryan mentioned Cummings during a recent press conference about different guys being ready to play Saturday. “Kenwin Cummings is a guy that’s been with us for a long time, we just haven’t had to use him,” Ryan says.
“It’s funny, when you tell your team and the practice squad guys that you have to prepare, you have to study, you never know when your number is going to be called,” Ryan continues. “Eventually, you are going to need everybody. The guys always look at you, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah,’ and they really don’t believe it. Now maybe they’ll start believing it because there have been times we’ve had to have Matt Slauson go in games, now Kenwin Cummings goes in. You use your roster. Kenwin is a smart guy, so you may see him in there also.”
A native of Maxton, N.C., Cummings was named to the Don Hansen’s Football Gazette NCAA Division II All-American team twice in his career. In his final season for Wingate (2007), Cummings led the South Atlantic Conference with 7.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. He finished his Bulldog career with 26 sacks and 50.5 tackles for loss.
The game will be shown on NBC Saturday afternoon. The winner of the game will travel to either Indianapolis to face the top-seeded Colts or travel to San Diego to face the two-seeded Chargers, depending of the result of the other AFC wild-card game.
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,159 students offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, world travel, career discovery and community service.
Wingate offers more than 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, communication, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration. In addition, the school awards the doctor of pharmacy and the doctor of education degrees.
Bulldog student-athletes compete in 19 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past three years.
Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 34 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 43 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.
(Wingate University director of broadcasting Ryan Brown wrote this article. Brown is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)