Chris Covington (born January 3, 1996) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who is a free agent. He was drafted by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

in the sixth round of the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Early years

Covington attended Al Raby High School, where he played as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. As a senior, he posted 1,993 passing yards, 26 passing

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s, 657 rushing yards, 13 rushing

s, 6 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, one forced fumble, while receiving All-city and All-conference honors. He was considered a two-star recruit as an athlete.

College career

Covington accepted a football scholarship from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

to be a defensive player. As a freshman, he was tried at

and

. After

Tre Roberson Trerein "Tre" E. Roberson (born October 22, 1992) is a professional gridiron football defensive back for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent following the ...

and Cam Coffman announced they would be transferring to other schools, Covington was moved to be the backup

behind

Nate Sudfeld Nathan Michael Sudfeld (born October 7, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Indiana and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round in ...

. He appeared in four of the first five games and was used mostly in the

Wildcat formation Wildcat formation describes a formation for the offense in football in which the ball is snapped not to the quarterback but directly to a player of another position lined up at the quarterback position. (In most systems, this is a running back, b ...

. In the sixth game against the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

, he saw extensive action after Sudfeld was injured with a separated left shoulder in the second quarter, registering 3 out of 12 completions for 31 yards, 11 carries for 41 yards, but suffered a season-ending torn ACL during the contest. As a sophomore, he was moved to

during spring practice. He appeared in the last 8 contests of the season and tallied 4 tackles (all against

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

). As junior, he played in all 13 games (one start) backing up Marcus Oliver. He posted 29 tackles (19 solo), 2 sacks, one quarterback pressure, 3 tackles for loss, and one forced fumble. He earned his first career start in the eleventh game against the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, making 6 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble. As a senior, he started all 12 games at

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

, replacing the recently graduated Oliver. He registered 85 tackles (third on the team), 50 solo tackles (third on the team), 12 tackles for loss (second on the team), 3 sacks, 5 quarterback hurries (second on the team), 5 passes defensed (third on the team), and one fumble recovery. He was named the team's Defensive Player of the Year. He finished his college career with 118 tackles, 70 solo tackles, 5 sacks, and 15 tackles for loss.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Covington was selected by the

in the sixth round (193rd overall) of the

. As a rookie, he was a backup

and was declared inactive in 11 games. He appeared in five games, playing mostly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

and had one tackle. On August 31, 2019, Covington was waived by the Cowboys and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on September 10, only to be waived four days later and re-signed back to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 14. He appeared in 3 games as a reserve player, making 3 defensive tackles. Covington was released by the Cowboys on April 30, 2020.

Indianapolis Colts

On December 15, 2020, Covington was signed to the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

' practice squad. On December 29, Covington was released from the practice squad.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Indiana Hoosiers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Covington, Chris 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Chicago American football quarterbacks American football linebackers Indiana Hoosiers football players Dallas Cowboys players Indianapolis Colts players