Anthony Ray Denman (born October 30, 1979) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for two seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. He was selected by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

in the seventh round of the

2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

Early life

Denman earned four letters playing

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Rusk High School. He spent time at

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

, linebacker,

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

and fullback during high school. He garnered all-state allocates his senior season in 1996 after rushing for 1,250 yards and 12 touchdowns on offense while recording 85 tackles and one sack on defense. Denman was also team captain as a senior. He earned first-team all-East Texas and all-district honors his junior and senior seasons. He rushed for 1,428 yards and 20 touchdowns as junior in 1995. Denman also earned three letters in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

College career

Denman played at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

from 1997 to 2000, recording career totals of 207 tackles and nine sacks. He earned

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second-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 2000. He was also the Fighting Irish's MVP and a team captain his senior year in 2000.

Professional career

Denman was selected by the

of the NFL with the 213th pick in the

2001 NFL draft The 2001 NFL draft was the 66th draft annual of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at the Th ...

and signed with the team on June 7, 2001. He was released by the Jaguars on August 27, 2001. Denman signed with the

of the NFL on August 28, 2001, and was released by the team on September 2. He was signed to the Browns' practice squad on September 7 and promoted to the active roster on September 19. He played in eleven games for the Browns during the 2001 season. Denman was released by the Browns on September 1, 2002. Denman was signed by the

of the NFL on September 3, 2002. He played in sixteen games for the Bills in 2002.

References

External links

College stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denman, Anthony Living people 1979 births American football linebackers Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Cleveland Browns players Buffalo Bills players Players of American football from Lufkin, Texas 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen