4  Lonnie Ballentine
	Class: Senior Hometown: Memphis, Tenn. High School: Southwind HS Height / Weight: 6-3 / 215 Position: DB Experience: 3L

Career

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Heads into his senior season having played 30 career games, making 20 career starts ... More than doubled his first two season tackle total last year as a junior ... through three seasons at Memphis has registered 118 career tackles including 70 solo stops ... Also has eight career pass breakups, 2.5 tackles for loss (4 yards) and a quarterback sack ... Has also recovered one fumble.

Honors (Academic/Athletic)

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Named All-Conference USA Honorable Mention following junior season in 2012 ... Awarded one of the Iron Tiger awards for his strength and conditioning work in the 2011 spring drills.

2012

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Memphis' leading tackler in the secondary, finishing the season with 66 total tackles (40 solo stops) ... Ranked fourth overall in tackles for Memphis in 2012 ... During the year had three interceptions, five pass breakups, a fumble recovery and a quarterback sack ... Had two pass interceptions in season opener against UT Martin ... Was one of just 77 FBS players to record multiple-interception games in 2012 ... Also had eight total tackles (three unassisted) against UT Martin which at the time tied a career high ... A week later at Arkansas State set a new career tackle standard with a 15-tackle game and also had a pass breakup in the game ... Had eight tackles (six unassisted) the next week against Middle Tennessee ... One of his two tackles in a win over Rice came the first series of the game when he tackled the Owl receiver a yard shy of the first down marker to force a punt ... Also broke up a pass in the Rice game ... Credited with a quarterback sack during three-tackle game at East Carolina ... Had five tackles (three solo stops) against UCF ... All five of his tackles at SMU were unassisted ... Had three unassisted tackles at Marshall ... Helped the Tigers begin a three-game win streak to end the 2012 season with a five tackle (three solo stop) game against Tulane ... Set the tone for the Tulane game when he intercepted a pass on the Green Wave's first play from scrimmage ... The interception set up a 54-yard touchdown drive as the Tigers took an early lead ... Had four tackles in the Battle for the Bones against UAB ... In addition to four tackles, recovered a fumble in the second quarter of the Southern Miss game ... Fumble recovery set up a 35-yard touchdown drive that gave the Tigers a 21-3 lead.

2011

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Saw action in 11 games, despite playing the entire campaign with a nagging hamstring injury ... Posted 35 total tackles with 21 solo stops and 14 assists ... Also recorded one pass breakup and 1.5 TFL (2 yards) ... Saw action in the season opener vs Mississippi State and had one assisted tackle ... Made his first start of the season against Arkansas State and logged a career-best four assisted tackles ... Had one solo tackle in a start against Austin Peay ... Started the SMU game before missing the following contest against Middle Tennessee ... Credited with six tackles (3-3) vs Tulane ... Had a pass breakup and three total tackles (2-1) against UCF ... Recorded career bests for total tackles (8) and solo stops (6) vs UAB ... Logged two tackles (1-1) and 0.5 TFL (1 yard) vs Marshall ... Had his third game of five-plus tackles in the season finale vs Southern Miss ... Made six stops (4-2) against the Golden Eagles, including 1.0 TFL (1 yard) ... Recovered his first collegiate fumble in the end zone to end the first half against Southern Miss.

2010

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One of 11 true freshmen to log action in 2010 ... One of six true freshmen to earn a start in at least one game ... Played in seven games with one start ... Logged 17 total tackles with nine solo hits and eight assists ... Recorded multiple tackles in four games ... Also posted two pass breakups and 0.5 TFL (1 yard) ... Missed the first two games vs Mississippi State and East Carolina ... Made his collegiate debut in the third week of the season vs Middle Tennessee ... Had two assisted tackles vs the Blue Raiders ... Recorded his first collegiate pass breakup vs Tulsa ... Logged his first collegiate solo tackle and first collegiate TFL vs Louisville ... Finished the game with five total tackles (3-2) and 0.5 TFL (1 yard) ... Had one assisted tackle and one pass breakup vs Southern Miss ... Received his first collegiate start vs Houston ... Logged a season-best seven tackles, including four solo stops, against the Cougars ... The four solo hits and three assisted tackles both were season bests ... Had two solo stops vs UAB.

Prep

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Signed with Memphis in March of 2010 ... Played for Coach Cedric Miller at Southwind High School ... Graduated early from high school, finishing his studies as a junior ... Saw primary action in the secondary ... Logged 45 tackles, six interceptions and 12 pass breakups in 2009 ... A 2009 team captain ... Also logged 800 all-purpose yards as a junior ... Rushed for 140 yards and three TD against Germantown High ... Rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals.com ... Named all-region first team ... Listed on the Super 24 Dream Team ... Selected to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) All-State first team and All-Shelby Metro ... Invited to participate in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl All-Star Game ... Also ran track and played basketball for the Jaguars ... A member of the 400M relay team that captured the Tri-State Invitational Meet championship in April of 2010 ... Transferred to Southwind after two years at Hamilton High School.

Personal

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Son of Lonnie Ballentine and Sheila Smith ... Born April 23, 1993 in Memphis, Tenn. ... Is married, and he and his wife, Brittany, have two children ... His mother, Sheila, played college basketball at Murray State and later played professionally in France ... Majoring in Sports and Leisure Management.

Career Stats

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