Barkevious Mingo

Barkevious Leon Mingo (/bɑːrˈkiːviəs/; born October 4, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers (LSU) and was selected by the Cleveland Browns sixth overall in the 2013 NFL draft. He won Super Bowl LI with the New England Patriots.

Mingo was born in Belle Glade, Florida. He attended West Monroe High School in West Monroe, Louisiana, where he was a letterman in football and track. He played football for the West Monroe Rebels team under head coach Don Shows. As a junior, he tallied 55 tackles to go with six sacks and 12 tackles for loss, leading this to be named All-State in Class 5A. As a senior in 2008, he was a 5A first-team All-state selection, after recording 59 tackles to go with seven tackles for loss and four sacks in helping lead West Monroe High School to the state championship game. He also added four forced fumbles and recovered seven fumbles. He played in the 2009 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Also a standout track & field athlete, Mingo was a state qualifier as a sprinter. At the 2008 Region I-5A Meet, he took gold in the 400-meter dash, with a PR of 48.92, and ran the lead leg on the West Monroe 4 × 200m and 4 × 400m squads, helping them capture the state title in both events. At the 2009 LHSAA Outdoor State T&F Championships, he took 5th in the 200-meter dash, recording a career-best time of 21.85 seconds, and finished 6th in the 400-meter dash, with a time of 49.54 seconds.

According to Rivals.com and Scout.com, Mingo was four-star college recruiting prospect. He was rated as the No. 6 strong side linebacker by Scout.com and the No. 9 by Rivals.com. He was a member of the Rivals 250 and Scout 300. He was rated as the No. 5 best athlete among linebackers by Rivals.com. He was rated as the No. 3 player in the state of Louisiana by SuperPrep and the No. 8 by Rivals.com.

Mingo attended Louisiana State University, and played for coach Les Miles's LSU Tigers football team from 2009 to 2012. He was redshirted in 2009. As a redshirt freshman in 2010, he started one of the 13 games he played in, recording 35 tackles and 3.5 sacks.^{[citation needed]} As a sophomore in 2011, Mingo was a Second-team All-SEC selection after recording 47 tackles and eight sacks. In 2011, he contributed to LSU's successful SEC Championship season. As a junior in 2012, he played in all 13 games with 10 starts, and earned Second-team All-SEC honors after recording 38 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, 4.5 quarterback sacks, and a team-high 12 quarterback hurries.^{[citation needed]}

On January 7, 2013, Mingo announced he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2013 NFL Draft. He was one of 10 LSU Tiger underclassmen to declare for the draft that year.

Mingo was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the first round with the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft. He was the third defensive end to be selected in the draft, after Dion Jordan and Ezekiel Ansah.

On July 21, 2013, the Browns signed Mingo to a four-year, $16.34 million contract that included a signing bonus of $10.26 million.