BIOGRAPHY
George Iloka was born March 31, 1990, in Houston, Texas. He is a safety in the NFL. Iloka attended Boise State University from 2008 to 2011, where he was a three-year starter. In his four years as a Bronco, the team went 50-3 and finished each season ranked 11th or better in the Associated Press (AP) National Poll. In his senior year, Iloka started 11 games at free safety and one at cornerback, helping the Broncos finish 12-1 in 2011. That year, he earned All-MWC first-team honors from league coaches and a trip to the 2012 Senior Bowl; the national attention shot Iloka to the top of many NFL Draft boards. Iloka finished his college career with 231 tackles, 24 passes defensed, seven interceptions and a sack.
In 2008, Iloka was the youngest player in the WAC at 17 and played in every game with five starts for a Bronco team that went 12-0 before losing to TCU in the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl. He compiled 62 tackles (5.0 solo), 10 passes defensed, 4 interceptions, and a sack on the year.
Iloka was an All-WAC selection in 2010. The Cincinnati Bengals selected Iloka in the fifth round (167th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. He was the 11th safety selected in 2012. His fall to the fifth round surprised many and was mainly attributed to concerns over his tackling and his low interception rate in college. During training camp in 2013, Iloka competed for the job as the starting strong safety against Taylor Mays, Jeromy Miles, and rookie Shawn Williams. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer named Iloka the starting strong safety to begin the regular season, along with free safety Reggie Nelson. Iloka entered camp slated as the starting strong safety and saw minor competition from Danieal Manning, Taylor Mays, and Shawn Williams. The Bengals' new defensive coordinator Paul Guenther retained Iloka as the starting strong safety to start the regular season, opposite free safety Reggie Nelson.
In Week 2, Iloka recorded a tackle, three pass deflections, and intercepted two passes by quarterback Matt Ryan during a 24–10 victory against the Atlanta Falcons. On October 5, 2014, Iloka collected a season-high nine combined tackles in the Bengals' 43–17 loss at the New England Patriots. In Week 9, he made five solo tackles, broke up two passes, and an interception during a 33–23 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Iloka finished the 2014 season with 74 combined tackles (48 solo), ten pass deflections, and three interceptions in 16 games and 16 starts. He received an overall grade of +3.4 from Pro Football Focus in 2014 and ranked 22nd among all qualifying safeties.
The Cincinnati Bengals finished the season second in the AFC North with a 10–5–1 record and received a wildcard berth. On January 4, 2015, Iloka recorded five combined tackles during a 26–10 loss at the Indianapolis Colts. Iloka and Nelson returned as the Bengals' starting safety duo to begin the 2015 regular season. He was inactive for the Bengals' Week 4 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs after aggravating an ankle injury he sustained in their season-opener. In Week 10, Iloka collected a season-high ten combined tackles in a 10–6 loss against the Houston Texans. On November 29, 2015, he made four combined tackles, a season-high two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass during a 31–7 win against the St. Louis Rams. Iloka was released by the Bengals on August 19, 2018. Three days after his release, he was signed by the Minnesota Vikings. The move reunited him with Mike Zimmer, who was the Bengals' defensive coordinator during Iloka's tenure with the Bengals. On March 23, 2019, Iloka signed a one-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys. On August 30, 2019, Iloka was released by the Cowboys. After sitting out the 2019 NFL season, Iloka had a tryout with the Minnesota Vikings on August 21, 2020. On September 17, 2020, Iloka was signed to the Vikings' practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on September 26 and October 3 for the team's weeks 3 and 4 games against the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was promoted to the active roster on October 10, 2020. He was placed on injured reserve on October 22
