Acho played college football for the Texas Longhorns, started at linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals and on special teams for the Chicago Bears, and has won multiple awards related to leadership and scholarship.

The Longhorns spent much of that season ranked #1 and won a share of the Big 12 South Championship before beating Ohio State in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl.

As a junior in 2009, Acho started all 14 games and was named honorable mention All-Big 12 by The Associated Press and team MVP after recording 55 tackles and eight sacks.

[15] Head coach Ken Whisenhunt named Acho a backup outside linebacker to begin the regular season, behind Joey Porter, Clark Haggans, and O'Brien Schofield.

[18] Acho remained the starting outside linebacker for the last ten games of the season after Joey Porter was placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury.

He finished his rookie season in 2011 with 40 combined tackles (35 solo), seven sacks, two pass deflections, and four forced fumbles in 16 games and ten starts.

[23] On October 21, 2012 Acho recorded four combined tackles, deflected a pass, and made his first career interception during a 21–14 loss at the Minnesota Vikings.

Acho made his first career interception off a pass by Vikings' quarterback Christian Ponder, that was originally intended for running back Adrian Peterson, in the second quarter.

[25] Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles held a competition for the jobs as the starting outside linebackers between Acho, O'Brien Schofield, Lorenzo Alexander, and Alex Okafor.

[27] He started in the Arizona Cardinals' season-opener at the St. Louis Rams and collected a season-high two solo tackles and forced a fumble in their 27–25 loss.

In Week 3, Acho made two solo tackles and a sack before exiting the Cardinals' 31–7 loss at the New Orleans Saints in the third quarter due to an ankle injury.

On September 23, 2013, the Arizona Cardinals placed Acho on injured reserve after he was diagnosed with a broken left fibula and was scheduled to miss the remainder of the season.

[30] Acho entered training camp slated as a starting outside linebacker and saw competition from Lorenzo Alexander, John Abraham, and Matt Shaughnessy.

[31] Head coach Bruce Arians named Acho a backup outside linebacker to begin the regular season, behind John Abraham and Matt Shaughnessy.

On January 3, 2015, Acho started in the NFC Wildcard Game and recorded seven combined tackles and forced a fumble during a 27–16 loss at the Carolina Panthers.

[34] During training camp, Acho competed to be a starting outside linebacker against Jared Allen, Lamarr Houston, David Bass, and Willie Young.

[39][14] During training camp, Acho competed to be a starting outside linebacker against Pernell McPhee, Lamarr Houston, Willie Young, and rookie Leonard Floyd.

[40] Head coach John Fox named Acho the backup outside linebacker to begin the regular season, behind Willie Young and Leonard Floyd.

[13][44] During training camp, Acho competed for a roster spot as a starting outside linebacker against Pernell McPhee, Willie Young, Leonard Floyd, Dan Skuta, and Lamarr Houston.

[45] Acho became a starting outside linebacker for the last nine games of the regular season after Willie Young and Leonard Floyd both suffered injuries and were placed on injured reserve.

He was the 2010-11 Male Big 12 Sportsperson of the Year, recognizing his community service and he was a finalist for the Lott Trophy, which is an award focused on character.

[8] Acho is included in a 2016 AOL article, "Six NFL Players with Genius IQ's," which noted that he is fluent in 3 languages: English, Spanish, and Igbo.