Kevin Strong

BIOGRAPHY

Kevin Strong Jr. Was born on August 5th, 1996, in Cleveland, Texas. He plays defensive tackle in the National Football League.

Prior To UTSA, Strong registered 65 stops and eight sacks en route to all-district accolades as a junior, and was a unanimous First-Team All-District 22-3A honoree as a senior after racking up 51 tackles, 13 TFLs and seven sacks. He also was a First-Team All-District basketball player and regional qualifier in track & field (shot put). He played college football in the University of Texas (San Antonio), and during his freshman year on 2014, Kevin redshirted and was named C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll member. As a redshirt freshman in 2015, Strong played in all 12 games with seven starts, registering 31 tackles (12 solos), 6.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks and a pair of pass breakups. He had a season-high five tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage, in the season opener at No. 22 Arizona (Sept. 3), and matched that total three games later against Colorado State (Sept. 26), breaking up two passes at UTEP (Oct. 3). During his sophomore year in 2016, Strong appeared in 12 contests and drew 10 starting assignments, posting 24 tackles (12 solos), 6.5 TFLs, one sack, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He also blocked a field goal at Louisiana Tech (Nov. 12) and an extra point at New Mexico in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 17). Kevin matched his career high with five stops, including a career-best three behind the line of scrimmage, against Southern Miss (Oct. 8), he also had a sack and forced a fumble against the Golden Eagles and recorded three tackles, two of which went for loss, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery against UTEP (Oct. 22). For the junior season in 2017, Kevin garnered Second-Team All-Conference USA accolades after registering 27 tackles (12 solos), seven tackles for loss, three sacks and four quarterback hurries. He started all 11 contests for a defense that led C-USA in seven statistical categories and ranked in the top 10 nationally in five, posting a career-high-tying five tackles, including a TFL, and one QB hurry against FIU (Nov. 4), had four stops, including a sack, in the 9-7 victory over Marshall (Nov. 18), recorded four tackles in the season finale at Louisiana Tech (Nov. 25). Strong turned in three stops, including 2.5 TFLs, in the 44-14 rout of Texas State (Sept. 23), also had three tackles and a sack in the 20-7 triumph over Rice (Oct. 21), posted a sack and a quarterback pressure in the season-opening victory at Baylor (Sept. 9) and had two QB hurries and a tackle in the 51-17 win against Southern (Sept. 16). In the course of his senior season in 2018, Kevin was named honorable mention in the All-Conference USA by the league’s head coaches. He started all 12 contests, tallied 24 tackles (12 solos), 6.5 tackles for loss, a sack, three quarterback pressures, one pass breakup and a safety. He owns the UTSA record with two careers blocked kicks and ranks second all-time with 26.5 career TFL. Strong had a pair of stops behind the line of scrimmage and a QB hurry in the 20-3 win at Rice (Oct. 6), posting a career-high tying five tackles at Marshall (Nov. 17), having a sack for a 5-yard loss and a pressure in the 30-21 win over UTEP (Sept. 29), registered three stops against North Texas (Nov. 24), including a key stop in the backfield on fourth down late in the final quarter and recorded three tackles at Kansas State (Sept. 16).

He signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent on May 10th, 2019. Strong joined the Arizona Cardinals in 2023.