Joshua Kalu

Joshua Elekwachi Kalu (born August 28, 1995) is an American football strong safety for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He played college football at Nebraska.

Joshua Kalu
Kalu with the Tennessee Titans in 2019
No. 46 – Tennessee Titans
Position:Strong safety
Personal information
Born: (1995-08-28) August 28, 1995
Houston, Texas
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:Alief Taylor (Houston)
College:Nebraska
Undrafted:2018
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
Total tackles:26
Interceptions:0
Pass deflections:1
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:0
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Born in 1995, Kalu was a native of Houston.[1] He attended Alief Taylor High School in Alief, Texas, where he played football at the safety position.[2]

College career

Kalu played as a defensive back for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team for four years from 2014 to 2017. He appeared in a total of 46 games for Nebraska,[3] missing only three games as a senior due to injury.[4] He compiled seven interceptions and 215 tackles.[3] In 2017, Nebraska's coaching staff moved him from the cornerback to the safety position.[5][6] During his recruitment and playing career with Nebraska, he had six separate position coaches due to repeated staff turnover.[2]

Professional career
Kalu in the 2018 preseason
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 0 1⁄4 in
(1.84 m)		 203 lb
(92 kg)		 32 3⁄4 in
(0.83 m)		 10 in
(0.25 m)		 4.58 s 41.5 in
(1.05 m)		 11 ft 2 in
(3.40 m)		 17 reps
All values from NFL Combine[7]

2018 season

On May 11, 2018, the Tennessee Titans signed Kalu as an undrafted free agent.[8] On August 12, 2018, Kalu was released by the Titans, but was re-signed eight days later.[9][10] He was waived on September 1, 2018 and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[11][12] He was promoted to the active roster on December 1, 2018.[13] Kalu mainly played on special teams and finished the season with 4 tackles.

2019 season
Kalu prior to blocking a field goal in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs

On September 2, 2019, Kalu was placed on injured reserve.[14] He was designated for return from injured reserve on October 30, 2019, and began practicing with the team again.[15] He was added to the 53-man roster on November 2, 2019. [16] On November 10, 2019, in Week 10, Kalu blocked a game-tying field goal against the Kansas City Chiefs in a 35-32 upset victory. [17] Kalu finished the 2019 regular season with six tackles and one pass defense.

2020 season

Kalu finished the 2020 regular season with a career-high 16 tackles.

Regular season
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GPGSCombTotalAstSackPDINTYdsAvgLngTDFFFR
2018TEN 504400.00000.00000
2019TEN 806600.01000.00000
2020TEN 150161240.00000.00010
Career280262240.01000.00010

Postseason
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GPGSCombTotalAstSackPDINTYdsAvgLngTDFFFR
2019TEN 300000.00000.00001
Career300000.00000.00001

References
  1. "Kalu benefiting from 'different level of focus'". Lincoln Journal Star. August 11, 2016.
  2. "NU changes failed to frazzle Kalu". Fremont Tribune. January 30, 2018. p. B3 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Joshua Kalu College Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  4. "Going undrafted doesn't spoil NFL dreams of former Husker Joshua Kalu". Omaha World Journal. May 1, 2018.
  5. "Joshua Kalu may be 'best safety in the country'". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 1, 2017.(available at Newslibrary.com)
  6. "Diaco has high praise for Kalu". The North Platte Telegraph. August 1, 2017.
  7. "Joshua Kalu Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  8. Wolf, Jason (April 28, 2018). "Titans signing more than 20 undrafted free agents". Tennessean.com. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  9. RotoWire Staff (August 12, 2018). "Josh Kalu: Released by Titans". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  10. Wyatt, Jim (August 20, 2018). "Titans add DB Joshua Kalu, Place DB Kalan Reed on Injured Reserve". TitansOnline.com. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  11. Wyatt, Jim (September 1, 2018). "Roster Moves: Titans Trim Roster From 90 to 53 Players". TitansOnline.com. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  12. Bacharach, Erik (September 2, 2018). "Titans add 10 players to practice squad, including Robert Spillane, Dalyn Dawkins". Tennessean.com. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  13. Wyatt, Jim (December 1, 2018). "Titans Promote DB Joshua Kalu, Waive DB Kenneth Durden". TitansOnline.com.
  14. Wyatt, Jim (September 2, 2019). "Titans Claim Former Colts DB Chris Milton Off Waivers". TitansOnline.com. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  15. Wyatt, Jim (October 30, 2019). "Wednesday's Quick Hits: Two-Step Tajae Sharpe, DB Joshua Kalu Practices, and the Titans Injury Report". TitansOnline.com. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  16. Wyatt, Jim (November 2, 2019). "Titans Add Kicker Ryan Succop, DB Joshua Kalu to 53-Man Roster for Sunday's game vs. Panthers". TitansOnline.com. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  17. Wyatt, Jim (November 10, 2019). "Joshua Kalu Saves Day With Blocked Field Goal Form has Titans". TitansOnline.com. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
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