Ernest Dwayne Levels (born May 9, 1979) is a former

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 spent three seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. He also spent one season in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL), but did not play. Levels 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 ...

for

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

and was signed by the Bengals as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in .

Early life and education

Levels was born on May 9, 1979, in

Lubbock County, Texas Lubbock County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 census placed the population at 310,639. Its county seat and largest city is Lubbock. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1891. It is named for Thomas Saltus ...

. He attended

Richardson High School Richardson High School (RHS) is a magnet high school in Richardson, Texas, United States with approximately 2,770 students and a student/teacher ratio of approximately 15:1 in the 20182019 school year. It is the oldest high school in the Richardso ...

Richardson, Texas Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas. It is home to the University of ...

, before playing

for

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. Upon joining the school in 1997, Levels was given a redshirt. He joined the varsity squad the following year, and became a regular starter shortly afterwards. In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, Levels was one of the best players on the roster, and made 16 tackles in one game. Teammate Zac Akin said, "Oh, he played his heart and soul out. It's ridiculous. The last few games, he's been barely able to get off the field a couple of times. This game, he's throwing up on the sidelines, goes back in there, makes a couple plays. Finally, we get him talked into going off the field. He's just dying out there. It's amazing. Dwayne is amazing." He returned for a final season in 2001, playing in all eleven games, and made a 57-yard interception return touchdown.

Professional career

After going unselected in the 2002 NFL Draft, Levels signed with the

as an

. He was released at roster cuts and subsequently signed to their practice squad, where he spent the remainder of the season. He was sent to the Barcelona Dragons of

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

in early 2003, and "had an outstanding season", starting all ten games and making 57 tackles. He made the Bengals final roster upon returning, and spent the season playing on special teams and as a backup linebacker. He made his first career start against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

in week seven, recording three tackles in the 34–26 win. He finished the season with 15 combined tackles in 13 games. He was waived by the Bengals in July . After spending time out of football in 2005, Levels was signed by the

Ottawa Renegades The Ottawa Renegades were a Canadian Football League franchise based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, six years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded. After four seasons, the Renegades franchise was suspended indefinitely by the league ...

of the

(CFL) in early , only to see them fold shortly afterwards. He was later selected in the 2006 CFL Dispersal Draft by the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

, but was released in training camp.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Levels, Dwayne 1979 births Living people Players of American football from Texas American football linebackers Canadian football linebackers Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Cincinnati Bengals players Ottawa Renegades players Montreal Alouettes players