JOHN ABRAHAM Defensive End 1996 / 1999 Timmonsville, SC

Biography

A late bloomer, Abraham played only two years of high school football, but flashed enough raw talent that the Charlotte Observer named him one of the state’s top 25 recruits in 1955. Abraham picked USC over Clemson and made an early mark as a Gamecock, earning time as a second string defensive end as a true freshman. He helped end Georgia’s final drive by teaming with Henry Taylor to sack Mike Bobo for an 11-yard loss at the USC 28, as the Gamecocks went on to win 23-14 in that 1996 matchup. At the end of his freshman season he was given the Scott Sinclair Award as the team’s outstanding freshman. Abraham would go on to start the next two season at defensive end, earning a reputation as one of the conference’s most feared pass rushers. In 1999 he dropped around ten pounds as Lou Holtz came on board and shifted him to outside linebacker. Abraham earned 2nd Team All-SEC honors that season despite the Gamecocks’ lack of success. He was a co-captain that season and was given the Steve Wadiak Award as the team’s MVP. After the season he played in the Senior Bowl before becoming the 13th pick in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. Abraham went on to be named to five Pro Bowls (as of the end of the 2010 season) while recording 133.5 sacks with the Jets (2000-05). Falcons (2006-12) and Cardinals (2013-14).

Prior Schools
School	Location

Roster Listings
Year	Roster	Num	Pos	Ht	Wt	Yr	Gms	GS
1996	Program vs Georgia	95	DE	6-3	218	Fr	0	0
1997	Lindy's 1997 Annual	95	DE	6-4	234	So
1997	Auburn 1997	95	DE	6-4	234	So	11	11
1998	Media Guide	95	DE	6-4	247	Jr
1999	Media Guide	95	DE	6-4	246	Sr
1999	Fall 1999	95	OLB	6-4	236	Sr	11	11
9999	Gamecock Archives All-Time By #	95	DE	6-4	236		0	0
1998	Fall 1998	95	DE	6-4	247	Jr	10	10

Depth Chart Appearances
Description	Position	Rank
1998 Media Guide	Defensive End	Starter
1999 Media Guide	Outside Linebacker	Starter
1999 vs Georgia	Outside Linebacker	Starter

Honors
Award	Year
1996	Scott Sinclair Outstanding Freshman
1999	All-SEC 2nd Team
1999	Rex Enright - Captain's Cup
1999	Senior Bowl
1999	Steve Wadiak MVP

Defense
Year	Solo	Ast	Tkl	TFL	Sacks	Int	PBU	QBH	FR	FF	BK	IP	CDS	RZS	IPP	YPT
1996	5	7	12	2.0	4.0		1	8	0	2	1
1997	16	19	35	5.0	6.5		0	14	0	1	0	13	4	3	25.58	0.73
1998	28	33	61	5.0	6.0		0	13	0	0	2	27	6	3	60.1	2.61
1999	32	29	61	6.0	6.0		1	12	5	1	1	26	5	5	66.93	1.58
Tot	81	88	169	18.0	22.5		2	47	5	4	4	66	15	11	152.61

IP - Impact Plays; CDS - Conversion Down Stops (3rd & 4th Down); RZS - Red Zone Stops; IPP - Impact Play Points; YPT - Yards Per Tackle

Punt Returns
Year	Ret	Yds	Avg	TD
1996	1	14	14.0	0
Tot	1	14	14.0	0

Games Started
Date	Opponent	Position
1997-09-06	Central Florida	Defensive End
1997-09-13	Georgia	Defensive End
1997-09-20	East Carolina	Defensive End
1997-09-27	Mississippi State	Defensive End
1997-10-04	Auburn	Defensive End
1997-10-11	Kentucky	Defensive End
1997-10-18	Arkansas	Defensive End
1997-10-25	Vanderbilt	Defensive End
1997-11-01	Tennessee	Defensive End
1997-11-15	Florida	Defensive End
1997-11-22	Clemson	Defensive End
1998-09-05	Ball State	Defensive End
1998-09-12	Georgia	Defensive End
1998-09-19	Marshall	Defensive End
1998-09-26	Mississippi State	Defensive End
1998-10-03	Mississippi	Defensive End
1998-10-10	Kentucky	Defensive End
1998-10-24	Vanderbilt	Defensive End
1998-10-31	Tennessee	Defensive End
1998-11-14	Florida	Defensive End
1998-11-21	Clemson	Defensive End
1999-09-04	N.C. State	Linebacker
1999-09-11	Georgia	Linebacker
1999-09-18	East Carolina	Linebacker
1999-09-25	Mississippi State	Linebacker
1999-10-02	Mississippi	Linebacker
1999-10-09	Kentucky	Linebacker
1999-10-16	Arkansas	Linebacker
1999-10-23	Vanderbilt	Linebacker
1999-10-30	Tennessee	Linebacker
1999-11-13	Florida	Linebacker
1999-11-20	Clemson	Linebacker

Scoring Plays
Date	Opponent	Qtr	Time	USC	Opp	Play

Defense - Sacks
Year	Date	Opponent	Down	To Go	Side	Ydline	Play
1997	1997-09-06	Central Florida	1	32	USC	44	Daunte Culpepper sacked for loss of 2 (John Abraham)
1997	1997-09-27	Mississippi State	3	6	MST	24	Wyatt sacked for loss of 6 (Henry Taylor, John Abraham)
1997	1997-10-18	Arkansas	1	10	ARK	43	Clint Stoerner sacked for loss of 8 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-09-05	Ball State	1	10	USC	42	Walters sacked for loss of 7 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-09-19	Marshall	2	9	USC	40	Chad Pennington sacked for loss of 9 (John Abraham, John Stamper)
1998	1998-09-19	Marshall	2	10	MAR	43	Chad Pennington sacked for loss of 3 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-10	Kentucky	3	4	USC	27	Tim Couch sacked for loss of 3 (John Abraham)
1999	1999-09-18	East Carolina	1	10	ECU	49	David Garrard sacked for loss of 13 (John Abraham)
1999	1999-10-16	Arkansas	1	10	USC	34	Clint Stoerner sacked for loss of 7 (John Abraham)
1999	1999-11-20	Clemson	2	19	CLM	13	Woody Dantzler sacked for loss of 4 (John Abraham)

Defense - Tackles For Loss
Year	Date	Opponent	Down	To Go	Side	Ydline	Play
1997	1997-09-06	Central Florida	3	10	USC	44	Daunte Culpepper rush for loss of 1 (John Abraham, Selvesta Miller)
1997	1997-09-27	Mississippi State	1	10	MST	26	Greer rush for loss of 1 (John Abraham, Henry Taylor)
1997	1997-10-11	Kentucky	2	5	USC	5	Anthony White rush for loss of 1 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-09-05	Ball State	1	10	BAL	24	Walters rush for loss of 1 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-03	Mississippi	1	10	UMS	23	Joe Gunn rush for loss of 3 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-03	Mississippi	2	1	UMS	25	Deuce McAllister rush for loss of 3 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-10	Kentucky	2	8	USC	12	Craig Yeast loss of 1 on pass from Tim Couch (John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-24	Vanderbilt	1	15	VAN	38	Hogans loss of 1 on pass from Zolman (John Abraham)
1998	1998-11-21	Clemson	3	6		50	Zachery rush for loss of 4 (John Abraham)
1999	1999-09-04	N.C. State	1	10	NCS	28	R.Spikes rush for loss of 4 (Corey Atkins, John Abraham)
1999	1999-09-11	Georgia	1	1	USC	1	Arnaud rush for loss of 1 (John Abraham)
1999	1999-09-25	Mississippi State	1	10	MST	43	Wayne Madkin rush for loss of 1 (John Abraham)
1999	1999-10-09	Kentucky	2	2	USC	4	Derek Horner rush for loss of 3 (John Abraham)
1999	1999-10-23	Vanderbilt	1	10	USC	20	Rodney Williams rush for loss of 1 (Marco Hutchinson, John Abraham)

Defense - Passes Broken Up
Year	Date	Opponent	Down	To Go	Side	Ydline	Play
1999	1999-11-20	Clemson	1	8	USC	8	Woody Dantzler pass for Rod Gardner incomplete (John Abraham)

Defensive Plays
Year	Date	Opponent	Down	To Go	Side	Ydline	Play
1997	1997-09-06	Central Florida	2	3	USC	3	Huff rush for 1 (John Abraham)
1997	1997-09-27	Mississippi State	1	10	MST	20	Greer rush for 3 (John Abraham, Shane Burnham)
1997	1997-09-27	Mississippi State	2	15	USC	29	Isaac, 15-yd pass from Wyatt (Marco Hutchinson, John Abraham)
1997	1997-10-11	Kentucky	3	16	UKY	34	Anthony White, 7-yd pass from Tim Couch (John Abraham)
1997	1997-10-18	Arkansas	1	10	USC	33	Rod Stinson rush for 2 (John Abraham)
1997	1997-11-15	Florida	2	12	FLA	10	Fred Taylor rush for no gain (John Abraham)
1997	1997-11-15	Florida	2	1	FLA	33	Fred Taylor rush for 2 (John Abraham, Homer Torrance)
1997	1997-11-15	Florida	1	10	USC	28	Eugene McCaslin rush for no gain (John Abraham)
1998	1998-09-05	Ball State	1	10	BAL	20	L.Moore rush for 1 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-09-05	Ball State	1	6	USC	6	Cartwright rush for 2 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-09-12	Georgia	1	5	USC	5	Patrick Pass rush for 1 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-09-12	Georgia	2	11	UGA	32	Olandis Gary rush for 1 (John Abraham, Darion Hutcherson)
1998	1998-09-12	Georgia	1	10	USC	10	Olandis Gary rush for 5 (Keris Sullivan, John Abraham)
1998	1998-09-12	Georgia	1	10	USC	22	Arnaud pitch for 1 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-09-19	Marshall	1	10	MAR	18	Chapman, 2-yd pass from Chad Pennington (John Abraham)
1998	1998-09-19	Marshall	1	10	MAR	16	Chapman rush for 5 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-09-26	Mississippi State	1	10	MST	34	Johnson rush for 1 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-09-26	Mississippi State	1	16	MST	42	Johnson rush for no gain (John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-03	Mississippi	3	13	UMS	20	Joe Gunn rush for 3 (Ray Green, John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-03	Mississippi	3	4	UMS	22	Romaro Miller rush for loss of 4, fumble, forced by (John Abraham), recovered by Matt Luke at UM 18
1998	1998-10-03	Mississippi	2	7	UMS	19	Joe Gunn rush for no gain (Corey Atkins, John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-03	Mississippi	2	12	UMS	34	Joe Gunn rush for 3 (John Abraham, Cecil Caldwell)
1998	1998-10-10	Kentucky	2	10	USC	43	Derek Homer rush for 5 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-10	Kentucky	1	10	UKY	29	Anthony White rush for 11 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-10	Kentucky	1	10	UKY	40	Anthony White rush for 8 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-24	Vanderbilt	1	10	VAN	5	R.Williams rush for 1 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-24	Vanderbilt	2	9	VAN	6	R.Williams rush for 3 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-31	Tennessee	3	13	USC	36	Tee Martin scrambles for 2 (Errol Rochester, John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-31	Tennessee	1	10	USC	40	Travis Henry rush for 15 (Keris Sullivan, John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-31	Tennessee	1	10	USC	25	Travis Henry rush for 4 (Andre Offing, John Abraham)
1998	1998-10-31	Tennessee	1	12	UTN	47	Copeland, 14-yd pass from Tee Martin (John Abraham, Ray Green)
1998	1998-11-14	Florida	3	7	FLA	49	Travis Taylor, 36-yd pass from Doug Johnson (Homer Torrance, John Abraham)
1998	1998-11-14	Florida	3	2	FLA	43	Eugene McCaslin rush for 1 (John Abraham)
1998	1998-11-21	Clemson	1	10	USC	39	Witherspoon rush for 8 (John Abraham)
1999	1999-09-04	N.C. State	1	10	NCS	36	C.Coleman, 4-yd pass from Jamie Barnette (John Abraham)
1999	1999-09-04	N.C. State	2	4	NCS	43	Ray Robinson rush for no gain (John Abraham)
1999	1999-09-04	N.C. State	1	10	NCS	22	Ray Robinson rush for 5 (John Abraham, Ray Green)
1999	1999-09-04	N.C. State	3	2	USC	47	R.Spikes rush for 1 (John Abraham)
1999	1999-09-04	N.C. State	2	15	NCS	30	R.Spikes rush for 4 (John Abraham)
1999	1999-09-11	Georgia	1	10	UGA	35	Phillips, 6-yd pass from Quincy Carter (John Abraham)
1999	1999-09-11	Georgia	4	7	USC	26	Hines, 43-yd field goal blocked by (John Abraham)
1999	1999-09-11	Georgia	1	10	UGA	44	Patrick Pass rush for no gain (John Abraham)
1999	1999-09-11	Georgia	2	8	USC	41	Johnson, 16-yd pass from Quincy Carter, fumble, recovered by (John Abraham) at SC 25, returned 21 yards
1999	1999-09-18	East Carolina	2	9	ECU	8	J.Wilson rush for 12 (John Abraham, Arturo Freeman)
1999	1999-09-18	East Carolina	2	10	ECU	35	J.Wilson, 2-yd pass from David Garrard (John Abraham)
1999	1999-09-18	East Carolina	3	8	ECU	37	David Garrard rush for loss of 8, fumble, forced by (John Abraham) recovered by J.Wilson
1999	1999-09-18	East Carolina	1	10	USC	44	J.Wilson rush for 11 (John Abraham)
1999	1999-10-02	Mississippi	1	10	UMS	45	J.Gunn rush for 7 (John Abraham, Arturo Freeman)
1999	1999-10-02	Mississippi	1	10	UMS	37	Deuce McAllister rush for 4 (John Abraham)
1999	1999-10-02	Mississippi	2	3	USC	24	J.Gunn rush for no gain (John Abraham)
1999	1999-10-09	Kentucky	2	2	UKY	40	Team rush for loss of 19, fumble, forced by (John Abraham), recovered by (Kenny Harney) at UK 21
1999	1999-10-16	Arkansas	3	2	USC	28	M.Williams, 4-yd pass from Clint Stoerner (John Abraham)
1999	1999-10-16	Arkansas	3	5	USC	13	M.Williams, 1-yd pass from Clint Stoerner (John Abraham)
1999	1999-10-16	Arkansas	2	6	ARK	8	Cedric Cobbs rush for 2 (Kalimba Edwards, John Abraham)
1999	1999-10-16	Arkansas	1	10	ARK	17	Chrys Chukwuma rush for 1 (Kalimba Edwards, John Abraham)
1999	1999-10-16	Arkansas	1	10	ARK	33	Michael Jenkins rush for 7 (John Abraham)
1999	1999-10-16	Arkansas	3	8	USC	31	Michael Jenkins rush for 6 (John Abraham)
1999	1999-10-16	Arkansas	2	6	ARK	35	Alvin Ray rush for 15 (John Abraham)
1999	1999-10-16	Arkansas	1	10		50	Andre Ackee rush for 1 (John Abraham, Dan Gawronski)
1999	1999-10-23	Vanderbilt	2	5	USC	28	Rodney Williams rush for no gain (John Abraham)
1999	1999-10-23	Vanderbilt	1	10	VAN	41	Rodney Williams rush for 11 (Ray Green, John Abraham)
1999	1999-11-13	Florida	2	1	FLA	29	Earnest Graham rush for 1 (Kenny Harney, John Abraham)
1999	1999-11-20	Clemson	3	23	CLM	9	Woody Dantzler rush for no gain (John Abraham)