Daumantas Venckus

Venckus_Daumantas_Akron_Football_H16_web

Height:
6-5
Weight:
230
Class:
Redshirt Senior
Hometown:
Weston, Fla.
High School:
Iowa / Cypress Bay HS

As a Redshirt Senior (2016): CoSIDA Academic All-America nominee … MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete … Academic All-MAC … played in all 12 games with seven starts … also saw action on the field goal unit … nationally ranked at No. 26 in fumbles recovered (2) … finished with 41 tackles, 4.0 TFL, two fumble recoveries, a sack, and two break-ups … made four solo stops at Ohio … against Toledo, had three tackles and a hurry … had five tackles and a break-up at Buffalo … in the win at Ball State, had seven tackles, 1.0 TFL, and a break-up … had six tackles and a fumble recovery against No. 23 Western Michigan … joined the starting line-up for the first time as a Zip in the win over Miami … finished with four tackles and a nine-yard sack … in the win at Marshall, had six tackles and a 35-yard fumble recovery with he returned for a touchdown … the fumble recovery and touchdown were both career firsts … it was Akron’s first defensive touchdown since Nov. 11, 2014 … recipient of the John Heisman Award … lettered.

As a Redshirt Junior (2015): Played in all 13 games ... also played on the field goal unit ... had 13 tackles and 2.0 sacks on the season ... in the win over Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, had a tackle ... had two tackles in the win at Eastern Michigan ... had four tackles and a 12-yard sack in the win at Louisiana ... had four tackles and a half sack in the win over Savannah State ... made debut as a Zip at No. 19 Oklahoma and had two tackles ... lettered.

At Iowa: As a Sophomore (2014): Did not see any game action. As a Redshirt Freshman (2013): Did not see any game action. As a Freshman (2012): Redshirted.

High School: Second-team All-State as defensive end and third-team All-State as offensive lineman as a senior for coach Marc Guandolo ... first-team All-Broward County on defense as a senior ... first-team All-County by the Miami Herald and Sun Sentinel ... first-team Under Armor All-Star team ... earned four letters while playing tight end and defensive end ... helped team advance to state playoffs as a junior and senior ... team captain as a senior ... set school record with eight fumble recoveries as a senior ... recorded 105 tackles as a senior, with 16 sacks, six caused fumbles, eight recovered fumbles, and one touchdown ... also had 28 tackles for loss, 22 pressures and 10 pass break-ups ... also lettered in wrestling and track ... four-year member of President's List.

Personal: Full name is Daumantas Venckus-Cucchiara ... born March 23, 1994, in Klaipeda, Lithuania ... parents are Violeta and Matt Cucchiara … earned his M.B.A. in management in Fall 2016.