Coty Sensabaugh (born November 15, 1988) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Clemson and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
College career
He played college football at Clemson University.
Professional career
Coming out of Clemson, Sensabaugh received an invitation to the annual NFL Combine in Indianapolis. He attended the combine, completed all of the required combine drills, and finished third among all defensive backs in the 40-yard dash. On March 8, 2012, he opted to participate at Clemson's pro day, along with Brandon Thompson, Dwayne Allen, Andre Branch, Antoine McClain, Kourtnei Brown, and others. Sensabaugh chose to stand on his combine numbers and only perform positional drills for the team representatives and scouts in attendance. After his pre-draft process was complete, he received a sixth round draft projection from NFL draft experts and analysts. He was ranked the 26th best cornerback prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans selected Sensabaugh in the fourth round (115th overall) in the 2012 NFL Draft.
2012
On May 11, 2012, the Tennessee Titans signed Sensabaugh to a four-year, $2.5 million contract.
Sensabaugh entered training camp his rookie year competing with Tommie Campbell, Chris Hawkins, Ryan Mouton, and Terrence Wheatley to be the Tennessee Titans' third cornerback on their depth chart. Head coach Mike Munchak named Sensabaugh the fifth cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behind Jason McCourty, Alterraun Verner, Tommie Campbell, and Ryan Mouton. His defensive backs coach with the Titans was Brett Maxie, who was also his cousin Gerald's coach with the New York Jets.
He made his professional regular-season debut in the Tennessee Titans' season-opening 13–34 loss to the New England Patriots. The following week, Sensabaugh recorded two combined tackles during a 10–38 loss at the San Diego Chargers in Week 2. On November 4, 2012, Sensabaugh received his first career start and collected four combined tackle as the Titans lost to the Chicago Bears, 20–51. He finished his rookie season with a total of 31 combined tackles (22 solo) and three pass deflections in three starts and 16 games.
2013
Sensabaugh competed with Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Tommie Campbell for the Tennessee Titans' position as the third cornerback. After showing promise throughout training camp, he was named the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the regular season. During the Titans' 16–9 season-opening victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sensabaugh recorded a season-high five solo tackles and deflected a pass. The next week, he earned his first start of the season and recorded two combined tackles as the Titans lost, 24–30, to the Houston Texans.
On December 18, 2013, the Titans placed Sensabaugh on injured reserve due to a foot injury. He finished the season with a total of 32 combined tackles (26 solo) and six pass deflections while starting three games and appearing in 14.
2014
Sensabaugh entered training camp in competing to be the starting cornerback opposite Jason McCourty after Alterraun Verner left via free agency. He lost the job to Blidi Wreh-Wilson and was named the third corner on the depth chart ahead of Brandon Harris and Marqueston Huff.
During the Tennessee Titans' season-opening 26–10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, he recorded a solo tackle and made his first career sack on Chiefs' quarterback Alex Smith. The following game, he earned his first start of the season and collected four solo tackles during a 10–26 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. On September 28, 2014, Sensabaugh recorded a season-high six solo tackles and a pass deflection as the Titans lost 17–41 to the Indianapolis Colts. He suffered a knee injury and was inactive for three games (Weeks 6-8) of the season. He finished the season with a total of 47 combined tackles (39 solo), a pass defection, and one sack in 13 games and six starts.
2015
Head coach Ken Whisenhunt held an open competition to name a new starting cornerback to start alongside Jason McCourty. The competition was between newcomer Perrish Cox, Blidi Wreh-Wilson, Jemea Thomas, and Sensabaugh. Although Perrish Cox was named the starting cornerback alongside Jason McCourty, Sensabaugh was able to win the starting nickel back job over Blidi Wreh-Wilson.