| Rod Babers |
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Cornerback
5-10 · 187
Houston, Texas (Lamar)
#21
A talented three-year starter who played in 50 career contests, with 40 starting assignments, including four bowl games (2000 & 2003 Cotton Bowls; 2000-01 Holiday Bowls) ... earned first-team All-Big 12 honors (2002) ... also earned third-team All-America honors from the Sporting News (2002) ... voted second-team All-Big 12 by the Houston Chronicle (2001) ... was a Thorpe Award semifinalist as a senior ... posted a career-high 21 pass breakups (T-No. 4 on UT's single-season list) in 2002 and finished his career ranked fourth on UT's all-time PBUs list (49) ... returned three of his five career interceptions for touchdowns, including two of 50-plus yards ... returned a pick 73 yards for a TD against No. 2 Oklahoma (ranked No. 8 in UT history) and registered a game-securing interception in a 17-15 win against Oklahoma State as a senior ... was part of a UT secondary that ranked among the top 12 nationally in passing and total defense in each of his three years as a starter ... also blocked two punts and a field goal during his career ... helped UT to its NCAA-leading 88.3 pass efficiency rating as a sophomore in 2000 ... played in 12 games as a true freshman ... led all UT freshmen in tackles, sacks and TFLs in 1999 ... was selected in the fourth round (123rd overall) by the New York Giants in the 2003 NFL Draft.
SENIOR (2002)
Started all 13 games, including the 2003 Cotton Bowl ... Thorpe Award semifinalist ... a consensus first-team All-Big 12 selection ... shared UT's Most Outstanding Defensive Back Award ... posted 46 tackles (33 solo), three TFLs, one sack, a pair of interceptions (including a 73-yard TD), one forced fumble and a team-high 21 pass breakups (T-No. 4 on UT's single-season list) ... also blocked a field goal at Nebraska ... was a key member of the Longhorn defense that led the Big 12 and ranked eighth overall in pass defense (165.2 ypg.), third in the league and eighth in the country in scoring defense (16.3 ppg.), and second in the conference and seventh in the nation in pass efficiency defense (96.1 rtg.) ... helped the defense record 21 interceptions (No. 2 Big 12; T-No. 6 NCAA) ... helped the defense hold North Texas to 145 yards of total offense, including just 55 yards through the air on 6-of-20 passing (30.0%) in UT's season-opening shutout ... recorded four tackles and one pass breakup as the Longhorns defense limited Houston to 152 total yards of offense ... racked up four tackles, one sack and four PBUs in the Longhorns' shutout at Tulane ... shared UT's Mike Campbell "Across the Bow" Defensive Player of the Game for his performance against the Green Wave ... registered four tackles, a tackle for loss, two PBUs and a game-clinching interception with 2:20 remaining against Oklahoma State ... tabbed the Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against the Cowboys ... returned his fifth career interception 73 yards for a touchdown against No. 2 Oklahoma ... tallied four solo tackles and three PBUs at No. 17 Kansas State ... posted five tackles and blocked a field goal at Nebraska and was named UT's Frank Denius Special Teams Player of the Game ... registered two solo stops and a pair of PBUs as UT limited Baylor to 127 total yards of offense and recorded its NCAA-leading third shutout of the season ... had a season-high seven tackles and two PBUs against Texas A&M ... posted three tackles and one PBUin the 35-20 Cotton Bowl victory over LSU.
JUNIOR (2001)
Started all 13 games, including the Holiday Bowl ... earned second-team All-Big 12 honors from the Houston Chronicle ... named UT's Most Consistent Defensive Player ... shared UT's Mike Campbell "Across the Bow" Defensive Player of the Week honor three times ... registered 40 tackles (31 solo), two TFLs, an interception and 17 pass breakups (T-No. 8 on UT's single-season chart) ... also blocked two punts (at Texas A&M, vs. Kansas), recorded a forced fumble and recovered a fumble ... a key member of a UT defense that led the nation in total defense (236.2 ypg), ranked third in passing (146.7 ypg) and scoring defense (13.7 ppg), fourth in pass efficiency defense (88.0 rtg) and sixth in rushing defense (89.5 ypg) ... the Longhorns were one of only two defenses that ranked among the top 10 nationally in all five statistical categories (Virginia Tech was the other) ... UT's secondary gave up just 4.77 yards per attempt (led NCAA) and only six TD passes (tied for second-lowest nationally) ... returned his only interception 54 yards for a touchdown in the Big 12 Championship game against No. 9 Colorado ... his blocked punt at Texas A&M was returned 23 yards by Tony Jeffery for UT's first touchdown in that game ... shared Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors following his performance against the Aggies ... posted a career-high nine tackles and had a pair of pass breakups against Texas Tech ... posted seven tackles against No. 21 Washington in the Holiday Bowl ... had five stops and three PBUs against North Carolina ... recorded four tackles at Houston and at Baylor ... added three stops and a pair of PBUs against New Mexico State ... had three tackles, one TFL, a fumble recovery and two PBUs in UT's first game against No. 14 Colorado ... registered three stops, a TFL and a pair of PBUs at Texas A&M.
SOPHOMORE (2000)
Started all 12 games at cornerback, including the Holiday Bowl ... registered 21 tackles (20 solo), one TFL, 10 pass breakups, a pair of interceptions and one fumble recovery ... second on the team with 10 PBUs ... helped lead a secondary that held opponents to just eight TD passes (second-lowest nationally) and 5.36 yards per pass attempt (third-lowest nationally) ... scored the first touchdown of his career when he returned an interception 15 yards against Missouri ... had a 24-yard interception return and a pair of tackles at Texas Tech ... had a season-high four tackles at Stanford and against No. 22 Texas A&M ... also recovered a fumble against the Aggies ... registered three tackles and a PBU against No. 8 Oregon in the Holiday Bowl ... had two tackles and two PBUs against Houston and Baylor.
FRESHMAN (1999)
Played in 12 of 14 games, including the Cotton Bowl, primarily at nickel back and on special teams ... earned starts at the nickel spot in the Oklahoma and Texas Tech contests ... missed the Nebraska and Iowa State games with an ankle injury ... led all UT freshmen in tackles (28), sacks (three) and TFLs (five) ... the three sacks tied for fifth on UT's freshman single-season list while the five TFLs ranked eighth ... 23 of his 28 tackles were solo stops ... had a season-best six stops and caused a fumble at Oklahoma State ... had four tackles against Texas Tech and three in five other games.
HIGH SCHOOL
Coached by Tom Nolan at Lamar High ... tabbed a 1998 honorable mention All-USA defensive back by USA Today ... named third-team Texas 5A all-state by the Texas Sports Writers Association as a senior ... three-time first-team all-district ... earned first-team All-Greater Houston honors after posting 43 tackles (23 solo) and intercepting eight passes (tied for the city lead) as a senior ... returned two of his picks for TDs and also forced a fumble during the year ... recorded 38 tackles, 11 PBUs and two interceptions as a junior ... posted 37 stops and nine PBUs as a sophomore ... was also a track standout who led Lamar to a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter relay at the Texas 5A state meet his junior year.
PERSONAL
Born 10/6/80 in Houston ... full name is Roderick Henri Babers ... majored in youth and community studies ... a member of the Athletics Director's Honor Roll in fall 1999 ... volunteered time feeding the homeless as a high schooler.
CAREER STATISTICS
Defense
Year G/GS TT (Solo) Sacks TFL INT (Yds-TD) PBU FC FR High
2002 13/13 46 (33) 1 (-6) 3 (-10) 2 (83-1) 21 1 0 7/A&M
2001 12/12 40 (31) 0 (0) 2 (-9) 1 (54-1) 17 1 1 9/TT
2000 11/11 21 (20) 0 (0) 1 (-1) 2 (39-1) 10 0 1 4/2x
1999 11/2 28 (23) 3 (-26) 5 (-30) 0 (0-0) 1 1 0 6/OSU
Career 47/38 131 (104) 4 (-32) 11 (-50) 5 (176-3) 48 3 2 9/TT
Special Teams
Year G TT (Solo) FC FR PBLK KBLK
2002 13 0 (0) 0 0 0 1
2001 12 0 (0) 0 0 2 0
2000 Did not play
1999 11 3 (3) 0 0 0 0
Career 36 3 (3) 0 0 2 1
High Games
Tackles: 9 vs. Texas Tech (Jr.)
Pass breakups: 4 at Tulane (Sr.)
