Reed Doughty (born November 4, 1982) 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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

who played 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 ...

. He was drafted by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

in the sixth round, with the 173rd overall pick, of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...

. Doughty is best known for taking over the starting job at

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

following the injury and subsequent death of

Sean Taylor Sean Michael Maurice Taylor (April 1, 1983 – November 27, 2007) was an American football safety for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected fifth overall in the 2004 NFL Draft by the Redskins, where h ...

, as well as for his public work to support

organ donation Organ donation is the process when a person allows an organ of their own to be removed and transplanted to another person, legally, either by consent while the donor is alive or dead with the assent of the next of kin. Donation may be for re ...

, particularly for Americans with

kidney disease Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Inflammation can ...

College career

During his college career, Doughty was a member of many Academic All-American teams, having graduated with a perfect 4.0

GPA Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

in sport and exercise science. Doughty was also a finalist for the

Draddy Trophy The William V. Campbell, formerly the Vincent dePaul Draddy Trophy, is awarded by the National Football Foundation to the American college football player with the best combination of academics, community service, and on-field performance. It is ...

award (also known as the "Academic Heisman") following his senior year.

Professional career

Washington Redskins

Doughty was drafted by the

in the sixth round of the

. In 2007, Doughty switched his jersey number to 37 from 23, which he wore in his rookie season. He had his first career start in Week 11 of the 2007 season against 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 2010 season, he recorded a career high of 93 tackles as well as one sack, two pass deflections, and one forced fumble. In 2011, Doughty was re-signed by the Redskins to a three-year contract. Throughout the 2011 season, he played as the backup to both free safety,

Oshiomogho Atogwe Oshiomogho Isaac "O.J." Atogwe (born June 23, 1981) is a Canadian former professional football player who was a free safety in the National Football League (NFL). He most recently served as the secondary coach for the Memphis Express of the A ...

, and strong safety,

LaRon Landry LaRon Louis Landry (born October 14, 1984) is a former American football safety. He played college football for Louisiana State University (LSU), and earned consensus All-American honors. The Washington Redskins drafted him with the sixth over ...

, splitting the responsibility with

DeJon Gomes DeJon "D.J." Gomes (born November 17, 1989) is a former American football safety. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. Gomes played college football for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He was ...

. Before the start of the 2013 season, Doughty was elected by his teammates to be the Redskins' special teams captain.

Personal

Doughty has severe hearing impairment and sometimes has to read lips to understand what others are saying. In 2002, Doughty married his girlfriend Katie. They met several years earlier at 3J's Christian Coffeehouse in Johnstown, Colorado, his hometown while they were both in high school. The Doughtys had a baby in August 2006, a son named Micah. Micah was born prematurely and suffered kidney failure as a baby, but received a successful kidney transplant and is now doing well. The Doughtys also had a daughter, and are currently living in Northern Colorado. Doughty is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

References

External links

Washington Redskins bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doughty, Reed 1982 births Living people People from Greeley, Colorado American football safeties Northern Colorado Bears football players Washington Redskins players Ed Block Courage Award recipients