Dominique Easley

Dominique Easley
Born: April 28, 1992

Dominique Easley is an American football defensive tackle for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Patriots in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida.

Easley attended Curtis High School in Staten Island, New York, where he played football and competed in track. In football, he was selected to play in the 2010 Under Armour All-America Game in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he announced his commitment to attend the University of Florida.

Easley also competed in track & field as a junior. At the 2009 PSAL Burough Championships, he won the shot put event, with a throw of 40 ft, and placed 10th in the 55-meter dash, with a time of 7.44 seconds. He took 8th in the shot put at the 2009 PSAL City Champs, with a PR of 43 ft 7 in.

Easley accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Urban Meyer and coach Will Muschamp's Florida Gators football teams from 2010 to 2013.

As a true freshman in 2010, Easley played sparingly, playing in six games and totaling four tackles. In 2011, he started all 12 regular-season games, before suffering a torn ACL against Florida State. He recorded a total of 37 tackles on the season, finishing tied for fifth on the team with 7.5 tackles for a loss. In 2012, he played in and started eleven games, missing two games due to injury. He collected 26 tackles on the season, including 8.5 tackles for a loss and a team leading four quarterback sacks, while adding a fumble recovery. In 2013, Easley's senior season was cut short after tearing his ACL in practice leading up to the Kentucky game. He totaled five tackles, including two for a loss.

On September 30, 2013, just a few days after it was reported he would miss the rest of the college football season, Easley announced he would forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the NFL Draft.

Considered a five-star recruit by ESPN.com, Easley was listed as the No. 1 defensive tackle in the nation in 2010.

2014 NFL Draft
Dominique was selected by the New England Patriots as the 29th pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.[7] The team signed him to a 4-year contract on June 23, 2014.[8] According to Ian Rapoport, the contract is for $7.3 million.[9]

New England Patriots
On September 7, 2014, Easley played in his first NFL regular season game, a 20–33 road loss to the Miami Dolphins. He would record his first career interception (off former Patriot Matt Cassel) the following week during a 30–7 win over the Minnesota Vikings. On December 17, the Patriots placed Easley on injured reserve.[10] After the departure of longtime starter Vince Wilfork Easley began the 2015 season as one of the Patriots starting Defensive tackles.