Carlos Dunlap

Carlos Dunlap (born February 28, 1989) is an American football defensive end who is a free agent.

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Dunlap was listed as the No. 1 weakside defensive end in the nation in 2007.

He chose Florida over offers from Clemson, South Carolina, Auburn, and Tennessee.

Dunlap accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators football team from 2007 to 2009.

As a true freshman in 2007, he played in 13 games, recording seven tackles and a quarterback sack.

As a sophomore in 2008, Dunlap played in all 14 of the Gators games recording 39 tackles, a team-high 9.5 sacks and three blocked punts.

He played college football at Florida where he won a National Championship in 2009.

He was the defensive MVP of the Gators win over the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2009 BCS National Championship Game, recording four tackles, and a shared sack during the game.

He also was a second-team All-SEC selection.

As a junior in 2009, Dunlap played in 13 games.

He missed one game, the SEC Championship, due to suspension after being arrested on driving under the influence of alcohol.

During the season, he recorded 38 tackles and nine sacks and was a consensus first-team All-SEC selection.

He ended his career with 84 tackles, 19.5 sacks, and three blocked kicks.

He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Dunlap was born in North Charleston, South Carolina.

He attended Fort Dorchester High School in North Charleston, where he played for the Fort Dorchester Patriots high school football team.

During his junior year, he made 103 tackles, 22 for loss and 9 quarterback sacks.

As a senior, he recorded 105 tackles, 35 for loss and 24 sacks and was chosen to play in the first Offense-Defense All-American Bowl.

After his junior year, Dunlap decided to forgo his senior season and enter the 2010 NFL Draft.

After his sophomore season, Dunlap was projected to be a first round and a possible top ten selection in 2010.

His draft stock began to fall after a mediocre junior season and a DUI arrest.

On January 11, 2010, it was announced that Dunlap would forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2010 NFL Draft.

Dunlap attended the NFL Scouting Combine and performed all of the combine and positional drills.

His overall combine performance was said to be underwhelming by multiple scouts, and he did not impress team representatives during the interview process.

On March 17, 2010, Dunlap attended Florida's pro day and chose to perform multiple combine drills again.

He improved his 40-yard dash (4.61s), 20-yard dash (2.68s), 10-yard dash (1.60s), bench press (22), and broad jump (9'4"). At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Dunlap was projected to be a second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the third best defensive end prospect by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, the fourth best defensive end by Scouts Inc., and was ranked the fifth best defensive end in the draft by DraftScout.com.

The Cincinnati Bengals selected Dunlap in the second round (54th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Dunlap was the tenth defensive end drafted in 2010.

On July 28, 2010, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Dunlap to a four-year, $3.71 million contract that included $1.77 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.22 million.

Throughout training camp, Dunlap competed to be a backup defensive end against Jonathan Fanene and Frostee Rucker.

Head coach Marvin Lewis named him the fifth defensive end on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Robert Geathers, Antwan Odom, Frostee Rucker, and Jonathan Fanene.

Dunlap was inactive as a healthy scratch for the first two games of the regular season.

On September 26, 2010, Dunlap made his professional regular season debut during the Bengals' 20–7 victory at the Carolina Panthers in Week 3.

Dunlap was inactive for another two games (Weeks 4–5), but made his return in Week 7 during a 39–32 loss at the Atlanta Falcons.

During the game, he made his first career tackle on running back Jason Snelling to stop a four-yard gain in the fourth quarter.

Dunlap was elevated on the depth chart after Antwan Odom was suspended and Johnathan Fanene and Frostee Rucker sustained injuries.

Fanene, Odom, and Rucker were all placed on injured reserve where they would end the season.

On November 14, 2010, Dunlap recorded two solo tackles and made his first career sack during a 23–17 loss at the Indianapolis Colts in Week 10.

Dunlap made his first career sack on quarterback Peyton Manning for a four-yard loss in the second quarter.

In Week 14, he collected a season-high four combined tackles and was credited with half a sack in the Bengals' 23–7 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers.