Helton Agrees to Terms with New York Jets

DURHAM, N.C. – Former Duke linebacker David Helton has agreed to terms with the New York Jets to join the NFL organization as an undrafted free agent.

In 49 career games with 32 starts, including 26 his last two years, Helton registered 347 tackles, 14.0 tackles for loss, 4.0 quarterback sacks, 10 quarterback pressures, three pass breakups and one fumble recovery. He ended his career ranked 10th in program history in tackles, becoming the 15th Blue Devil to reach the 300-tackle plateau. Helton turned in three career games with 16 or more tackles, tied for the fourth most in program history, and had 11 games totaling 10 or more tackles, including a career-high 19 stops at Virginia Tech in 2013.

Helton, a native of Chattanooga, Tenn., turned in a senior year that was one of the most decorated in Duke history as he received the National Football Foundation (NFF) William V. Campbell Trophy, given to the best collegiate football student-athlete in the nation, as well as the ACC's Jim Tatum Award, presented to the top senior football student-athlete in the league. Helton was an NFF Scholar-Athlete Award selection and a finalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy. He was also a CoSIDA Academic All-America honoree during his final campaign and a four-time All-ACC Academic Football Team member.

On the field in 2014, Helton was a first team all-ACC selection after leading the league in tackles per game (10.31) for the second straight year, becoming only the fifth player in league history to repeat as tackle champion, and the first since NFL Pro Bowler Luke Kuechly from 2009-11. Helton recorded 134 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 quarterback sacks, five quarterback pressures, one pass breakup and one fumble recovery. His season tackle total is tied for the 14th-highest single-campaign total in school history. He teamed with DeVon Edwards (133) and Jeremy Cash (111) to become just the third trio in Duke history to post 110 or more tackles in the same season, joining Jim Reilly (137), Carl McGee (130) and Hank Rossell (130) in 1976 and Helton (133), Cash (121) and Kelby Brown (114) in 2013.

Helton also helped oversee an unprecedented stretch of three consecutive bowl appearances by Duke and an appearance in the 2013 ACC Championship Game after winning the league's Coastal Division.

#GoDuke