On February 3, 2019, Dont’a Hightower received his 3rd Super Bowl trophy with his team, the New England Patriots, defeating their opponent – Los Angeles Rams – in a thrilling 13-3 win. This is her 6th win in all eleven games.
Dont’a Hightower registered 2 sacks from his team four and three hits on Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff. Hightower, who had just recovered from a hand injury, also broke up a pass that would have been an interception had he persisted. His second sack resulted in one of the Rams’ nine punts in the championship game. Let’s learn more about the playmaker.
Biography – Who isn’t a Hightower?
Qualin Dont’a Hightower was born on March 12, 1990 in Lewisburg, Tennessee. He was raised along with his younger sister Queenette by his single mother, L’Toya Hightower, who worked two jobs to keep the family together.
Dont’a Hightower was a student at Marshall County High School in Lewisburg, where he played high school football with the Marshall County Tigers. He had a rare opportunity to become the school’s backdoor. Make the most of this opportunity and put on an unmissable performance that you can follow for 1,000 yards and score 7 touchdowns.
As he grew in size, so did his playing position, moving in the team to the tight and defensive end. Hightower was selected to play in the US Army East-West All-Star Game in San Antonio, Texas. He attended the University of Alabama from 2008 to 2011 and played for the Crimson Tide Football Team.
On the linebacker’s return in 2010, he worked on his en route to becoming team defense captain in 2011. His efforts earned the Crimson Tide defense the #1 spot in the US in all five categories – points defense, total defense, quick defense, pass efficiency, and pass defense. This season he has recorded an impressive 81 tackles, 37 solo stops, three sacks under 16 yards and 9.5 tackles for the loss. He finished with 8 quarterback rushes, an interception, and 3 broken passes.
He was named to the All American first team by the American Football Coaches Association and was a finalist for several awards, including the Bednarik Award and the Lott Trophy.
His career
Hightower was the New England Patriots’ third linebacker in the 2012 NFL Draft. On July 19, 2012, he signed a four-year, $7.72 million contract with the Patriots. The deal came with a signing bonus of over $4 million.
He played his first starting game with the Patriots against the Tennessee Titans in which his team earned a 34-13 win. Hightower recorded five combined tackles and one recovered after a six-yard touchdown. The Patriots ended this season with a record 12 wins and 4 losses and clinched the AFC East title. Hightower started the first playoffs of his career in the Patriots game against the Houston Texans. His team won 41-28 and he recorded three combined tackles.
He was brought into the Bundesliga as a regular linebacker during the 2013 season and the Patriots clinched another AFC East title with a 12-4 record. Hightower won Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, 2015 with the Patriots. Of course, the team won another AFC title that same year with a 12-4 record. Dont’a Hightower recorded 61 combined tackles, 3.5 sacks, two passes defended and one easy recovery in all 12 games he started.
Despite the various injuries he sustained, the following season he finished the tournament with 65 combined tackles, two passes defended, and ranked 94th among the NFL’s top 100 players. Super Bowl LI came along and Dont’a Hightower helped the Patriots stage a comeback from a 25-point deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons. He was able to complete two solo tackles and a forced fumble that provided the 34-28 win.
He extended his contract for another 4 years in 2017, the deal is valued at $35.5 million. This year he had to pause because of a shoulder injury. He resumed play in 2018 and won another AFC title with the team as they finished the season with a record 11-5. Also, his team won Super Bowl LIII 13-3 against LA Rams.
His brother and girlfriend
Although the outside linebacker doesn’t have a biological brother, he sure does have a sports brother who he played football with from college and who is a strong defender of his team. He is none other than Brandon Deaderick. Their combination devastated the Rams at Super Bowl LIII in February 2019.
Hightower is in a relationship with the beautifulblonde aspiring writer Morgan Hart. They met back in their days at the University of Alabama and have been going strong ever since. Morgan is very supportive of Hightower’s career and has been named one of the NFL Players’ Hottest Wives and Girlfriends. The couple has no children yet.
His size
This piece stands at a height of 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), which is very perfect for its weight of 118 kg (260 lb).