April 26, 2009
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Former Notre Dame safety David Bruton (Miamisburg, Ohio/Miamisburg) was selected Sunday by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft with the 114th pick overall. Bruton was the first Notre Dame player taken in this year’s draft.
Bruton becomes the fourth Irish defensive back selected in the last three years (Tom Zbikowski, Baltimore in ’08; Mike Richardson, New England in ’07; Chinedum Ndukwe, Cincinnati ’07). Bruton is the first Notre Dame player drafted by Denver since Ryan Harris was taken in the third round (70th pick overall) of the 2007 draft.
Bruton blossomed as a junior and senior, starting 24 of 25 games from 2007-08 and was Notre Dame’s top tackler during that period. Bruton ranked second on the team with 97 tackles in 2008 and his 85 tackles in 2007 were the third most. Bruton appeared in 48 games during his Irish career and finished with 214 career tackles, including seven tackles for loss and one sack. He recorded seven career interceptions, nine passes broken up, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. One of the top gunners in college football since his sophomore season, Bruton logged 596 special teams appearances at Notre Dame.
One of three team captains as a senior (joining Maurice Crum Jr. and David Grimes), Bruton started all 13 games at free safety and recorded the third-most tackles in a single season by a Notre Dame defensive back (97). He recorded at least 10 tackles in three games and led or tied for the team lead in tackles in five games. Bruton forced six turnovers in his final season with five forced turnovers occurring inside the Irish 27 yard line. He led the Irish with four interceptions and added two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Bruton tallied a career-high 16 tackles to go with one interception versus Pittsburgh and totaled 335:26 of playing time with 152 special teams appearances in his final season.
Bruton became Notre Dame’s free safety after Ndukwe was drafted by Cincinnati and responded by totaling the sixth most tackles in a season by an Irish defensive back while starting 11 of 12 games in 2007. Bruton added 4.5 tackles for loss, including one sack and added three interceptions, two pass break ups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He logged 319:02 of playing time and 169 special teams appearances as a junior. Bruton was also named the defensive most valuable player of the 2007 Blue Gold spring game after returning an interception 35 yards for a touchdown.
The Miamisburg, Ohio, native is set to graduate in May from Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters with degrees in political science and sociology.
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