Niko Koutouvides

Niko Stelios Koutouvides (born March 25, 1981) is an American football linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue.

Early years

Koutouvides was born in Plainville, Connecticut and attended Plainville High School, where he was a letterman in football. In football, he was named the team's Most Valuable Player, was an All-Conference selection, and an All-State Honorable Mention selection.

Koutouvides attended Milford Academy, a postgraduate school in 1999 and was a student and a letterman in football. In football, he led team in sacks and finished second on team in tackles.

College career

At Purdue, he started in 32 of 50 games from 2000-2003. His career stats include 296 tackles (180 solo), 21½ tackles for a loss, five interceptions, four sacks, four fumble recoveries, and four forced fumbles. He majored in Organizational Leadership and Supervision.

As a junior, he started all 13 games and notched career-high 121 tackles (80 solo) to lead the team to their 6th straigh bowl game appearance. He had team-high 11.5 tackles for loss, including four sacks. Knocked down three passes and intercepted three, posted at least 11 tackles in six games, and saw action in every game his first two seasons in a reserve role with 74 tackles, four fumble recoveries, and three forced fumbles.

His senior year began with him winning the Hammer Award as...
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