Kenny Vaccaro

Kenneth Dwayne Vaccaro (born February 15, 1991) is an American former football safety who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and founder and CEO of the Gamers First organization.

They have teams in Halo and other major Esport titles.

Vaccaro enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin, where he played for coach Mack Brown's Texas Longhorns football team from 2009 to 2012.

During his freshman year, Vaccaro appeared in all 13 games, both as a safety and on special teams.

He made 1 tackle, blocked 1 punt and also forced a fumble in a game vs. Texas A&M.

Texas ended the season with a 21-37 loss to Alabama.

Vaccaro sacked quarterback Sam Bradford in the 2009 Red River Rivalry.

In his sophomore year, Vaccaro saw more playing time in all 12 games with six starts: two games started as a safety and the other four as a nickelback.

His best game of the year was against Oklahoma State where he caught his first college career interception.

He had nine tackles (eight solo), one tackle for loss, and two pass breakups before the game was over.

Vaccaro finished the season with 54 total tackles (42 solo), one interception, four tackles for loss, one forced fumble, and eight passes defended.

The Longhorns had their first losing season (5–7) in 13 years.

Vaccaro started all 13 games as a safety during his junior year and finished the season as a solid starter for the Texas Longhorns.

He had 82 total tackles with 8 for a loss, 2.0 sacks, 8 pass breakups and 2 interceptions.

In the Holiday Bowl, Vaccaro and his defense held the California Golden Bears to seven rushing yards and 195 yards of total offense.

He had five tackles, two tackles-for-loss and a sack in the 21–10 victory.

As a senior in 2012, Vaccaro was named a first-team All-American by Pro Football Weekly.

He and linebacker Alex Okafor were voted as defensive captains for the season.

Vaccaro attended the NFL Scouting Combine and completed all of the combine and positional drills.

He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft and also played for the Tennessee Titans.

He played college football at Texas.

On December 1, 2021, he retired to pursue a career in Esports.

The eldest of four children, Vaccaro was born and raised in Brownwood, Texas by a widowed mother.

He attended Brownwood High School before transferring to Early High School in nearby Early, Texas for his senior year and played football at both schools, earning all-district and all-state honors.

While in high school he was moved around the field and played in six different positions.

He also competed in athletics in both running and field events and had career-bests of 13.26 meters in triple jump and 6.48 meters in long jump.

On March 26, 2013, Vaccaro participated at Texas' pro day, but did not perform any drills due to a hip injury.

He attended private workouts and visits with a few teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, and New Orleans Saints.

At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Vaccaro was projected to be a first round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts.

He was ranked as the top safety prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com, Sports Illustrated, and NFL analyst Mike Mayock.

The New Orleans Saints selected Vaccaro in the first round (15th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Vaccaro was the first safety drafted in 2013 and was the highest safety drafted from the University of Texas since Earl Thomas (14th overall) in 2010.

On May 9, 2013, Vaccaro signed a fully guaranteed four-year, $9.42 million contract with a signing bonus of $5.23 million.

Throughout training camp, Vaccaro competed against Roman Harper to be the starting strong safety.

Head coach Sean Payton named Vaccaro the backup strong safety behind Harper to start the regular season.

Vaccaro made his professional regular season debut and first NFL start in the Saints' season-opener against the Atlanta Falcons and made five solo tackles and deflected a pass intended for tight end Tony Gonzalez, which was caught by teammate Roman Harper on fourth down to seal a 23–17 victory.

Vaccaro became the starting strong safety in Week 3 after Roman Harper sustained a knee injury.

On September 22, 2013, Vaccaro recorded seven combined tackles, broke up a pass, and made his first career interception during a 31–7 win against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3.

In Week 5, he collected five solo tackles, deflected a pass, and made his first career sack on Jay Cutler in the Saints' 26–18 win against the Chicago Bears.

In Week 10, Vaccaro made three solo tackles and a pass deflection before exiting in the third quarter after sustaining a concussion due to a knee colliding with his helmet while making a tackle during a 49–17 victory against the Dallas Cowboys.