SLB, 6-3, 220

SO-1L

Little Rock, Ark.

(Central HS / Hargrave [Va.] Military Acad.)

OUTLOOK: Fresh off a freshman All-America season in 2005, Fairchild debuted with a standout performance in the 2006 season opener racking up 12 tackles against No. 6 USC in a start at sam linebacker. Unfortunately for Fairchild and the Razorbacks, his season was sidelined shortly thereafter after he suffered a season-ending ACL injury to his right knee in the second game of the year against Utah State. He worked gingerly early in his return, but found his stride by the end of spring practice. He was granted a medical hardship and will be a sophomore again this season. Despite just more than one season under his belt in the Southeastern Conference, he has already exhibited the potential to be one of the best linebackers in the league. Fairchild is atop the pre-season depth chart at sam (strong-side) linebacker.

2006: A promising start to his sophomore campaign never had a chance to materialize as he suffered a season-ending ACL injury in his right knee in the Razorbacks’ second game. He earned 12 tackles (five solo) in his short two-game stint. He started against both No. 6 USC and Utah State before being sidelined for the duration of the campaign. – He earned the opening day start at sam linebacker against No. 6 USC. He responded with a career-high 11 tackles, including five solo and six assisted stops, against the Trojans. The momentum was quickly derailed though as Fairchild tore his right ACL in the Razorbacks’ non-conference win over Utah State. He earned one assisted tackle before the injury. Fairchild underwent season-ending surgery and was sidelined for the remainder of the campaign. He was granted a medical hardship and can use 2006 as a redshirt season.

2005: He flourished in defensive coordinator Reggie Herring’s 4-3 defense playing in all 11 games at linebacker and on special teams. As a freshman, he moved into the starting spot at strong-side (sam) linebacker and started the final nine games, averaging 6.1 tackles over that stretch. He earned at least two tackles in all 11 games and five or more stops in eight contests. He was sixth on the team with 59 tackles and seventh with 6.0 TFL (-28). He also had two sacks (-16), three quarterback hurries and one pass break up. He ranked fourth on the team with seven special teams stops. Fairchild earned first-team freshman All-America honors from ESPN.com, CollegeFootballNews.com and Rivals.com, and second-team honors from Scout.com and The Sporting News. The Sporting News also named him the SEC’s Defensive Freshman of the Year and to its freshman All-SEC team. The SEC coaches also placed him on the freshman All-SEC squad. – He earned two tackles in his collegiate debut against Missouri State. He followed it up with two more tackles and his first career tackle for loss (-10) in the conference opener against Vanderbilt. His fourth-quarter sack of Vanderbilt’s Jay Cutler came on an untouched blitz up the middle. He earned his first collegiate start against No. 1 USC at the L.A. Coliseum when Pierre Brown missed the game with an injured knee. He recorded five tackles, including four solo stops at USC. He set a then-career-high with nine tackles (five solo) at Alabama. He made one tackle behind the line of scrimmage (-3) against the Crimson Tide. He tallied five tackles in a non-conference win over Louisiana-Monroe. In his fourth start, he registered six solo stops and eight total tackles against Auburn. At No. 4 Georgia, he earned the first multiple TFL game of his career when he dropped two Bulldogs’ for negative yardage (-9). He earned his second career sack (-6) and a quarterback hurry against Georgia. He matched a career high with nine tackles and a quarterback hurry in a home loss to South Carolina. He earned five solo stops against the Gamecocks. He tallied five tackles and two tackles for loss (-6) in the Hogs’ win over Ole Miss. He accounted for six tackles (three solo) in the Razorbacks’ win over Mississippi State in Little Rock. He also broke up an MSU pass and registered one quarterback hurry. He finished the season with two tackles at LSU.

HIGH SCHOOL CAREER: He helped Hargrave to a 7-3 record in 2004 for Coach Robert Prunty. He was the 2003 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Player of the Year in his senior season for Coach Bernie Cox at Central High School. He helped lead the Tigers to a 14-0 record and a Class 5A state championship. He tallied 156 tackles (77 solo, 79 assisted), five tackles for loss and five pass deflections. He also earned two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. The Associated Press named him to its Super Team following his senior season. He was also a member of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Team. He played only two years of organized football in high school. He was a high school teammate of current Razorback Fred Bledsoe. SuperPrep rated him the No. 14 prospect in Arkansas while The Morning News had him at No. 23.  Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 16 prep school prospect in the country. He was also recruited by Arkansas State and Memphis.

PERSONAL: Born July 1, 1986, he is the son of Freddie Fairchild. He is enrolled in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and is majoring in sociology.