#94
MICHAEL ATUNRASE
Year: Senior
Position: Defensive Line
Height /Weight: 6-2 / 265
Hometown: Yardley, Pa.
High School: Lawrenceville (N.J.) Prep
Major: Exercise Science
• 2011 Delaware Season Statistics
At Delaware: Returning starters who ranks among the top defensive ends in the Colonial Athletic Association and should receive national notice…earned pre-season honorable mention All-American notice by Consensus Draft Services…pre-season first team All-Colonial Athletic Assosciation by CAA coaches and media and by Phil Steele College Football Preview…lone returning full-time starter on defensive front…strong, athletic player who has ability to be a difference maker on the field from right end spot...three-year letterwinner who has posted 75 tackles in 33 career games with 14 starts….team’s active career leader with 11.5 tackles for loss…returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown in the spring game.
2010 Season: Enjoyed an outstanding junior season in his first year as a regular starter on the defense that led the nation in scoring defense at 12.1 points per game and ranked No. 5 in total defense (280.7 yards per game)…led team to FCS national title game…earned third team All-CAA honors…played in 14 games with 13 starts, missing only the Villanova game due to an injury…ninth on the team in total tackles, collecting 43….tied Chris Morales for team lead with 3.5 sacks and was third on squad with nine tackles for loss for a team-high 45 yards…Blue Hen Touchdown Club Co-Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts vs. South Dakota State when he tied a career-high with seven tackles...recorded two tackles for loss in national championship game vs. Eastern Washington…team went 12-3 and advanced to the FCS title game under head coach K.C. Keeler.
2009 Season: Important player on the defense, playing in all 11 games…earned second letter in a season that saw his first start vs. Hofstra in week nine…recorded 23 tackles on the year, including eight solo stops…had an outstanding game vs. West Chester with five tackles and one fumble forced…recorded a career-high seven tackles in a victory over Hofstra…recorded 1.5 tackles for loss which came in the form of sacks vs. West Chester and Hofstra…recovered first fumble of career vs. Delaware State with a 16-yard return…team finished 6-5 under Keeler.
2008 Season: Played a key role as a backup defensive end and appeared in eight games, earning first letter...injured his knee vs. Hofstra Oct. 25 and missed the final four games of the season...posted nine tackles on the season, including five solo stops...recorded a career-high four tackles vs. William & Mary and three against Hofstra...had a tackle for loss among his two stops against Albany.
2007 Season: One of three defensive linemen in Delaware’s 2007 recruiting class...did not see game action and retained freshman eligibility.
High School: Played defensive end at The Lawrenceville School for head coach Ken Mills...led team to 5-4 record with four straight wins to end season in 2006...first team all-prep by the Trenton Times newspaper as a senior when he collected 72 tackles, nine sacks, two forced fumbles, and one interception in 2006...first team all-conference as selected by the league coaches...earned Lawrenceville Prep’s Tom Dickens Award as the team’s most improved player...missed entire junior year with a knee injury…competed in track and field and basketball.
Personal: Michael Olaoluwa Atunrase (“at-ton-rah-shay”)...born April 3, 1989...shares the same date of birth of fellow defensive end Quincy Barr…son of Michael and Lola Atunrase...oldest of four children...exercise science major who would like to enter sports medicine field or become an orthopedic surgeon...has worked as a camp counselor and resident assistant the last two summers for UD’s Upward Bound Program, which prepares student from low-income families for college entrance…has also worked as a day care teacher...enjoys listening to music, drawing, and painting...plays the drums and the piano and performs at his church...both parents are pastors...both parents were athletes at the University of Lagos in Nigeria...father played soccer and mother ran track and played volleyball...cousin, Moreneke Atunrase, played in the WNBA after a standout career at Texas A&M.
Career Statistics at Delaware
| Year | GP/GS | Tackles (Solo) | TFL-Yards | Sacks-Yards | PB | Int. |
| 2010 | 14/13 | 43 (22) | 9-45 | 3.5-26 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | 11/1 | 23 (8) | 1.5-7 | 1.5-7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 8/0 | 9 (5) | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 33/14 | 75 (35) | 11.5-50 | 5-33 | 1 | 0 |
Career-High Tackles: 7 vs. Hofstra, 2009; vs. South Dakota State, 2010
