Bruce Perry (born March 22, 1981) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

and in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

(CFL) for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

. He was the Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year as just a sophomore in 2001, but the rest of his career at the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...

, and as a professional, was hampered by numerous injuries.

Early life

Perry is a Philadelphia native and attended George Washington High School. He also attended

Cardinal Dougherty High School upright=1.35, CDHS marching band at the World Music Championship 1966 Cardinal Dougherty High School (CDHS) was a private, Roman Catholic high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphi ...

in Philadelphia.

College career

Perry played college football at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship un ...

and started all 11 games as a sophomore. That year, he rushed 219 times for 1,242 yards and ten touchdowns in addition to catching 40 passes for 359 yards and two touchdowns, leading Maryland to an

ACC ACC most often refers to: *Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular speci ...

Championship and an appearance in the

2002 Orange Bowl The 2002 FedEx Orange Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Florida Gators and the ACC champion Maryland Terrapins on January 2, 2002. Florida defeated Maryland 56–23. The game was part of the 2001–2002 Bowl Cha ...

. He won ACC Offensive Player of the Year as the second non-senior to do so and was a second-team All-American. Perry was also a first-team All ACC selection and was a finalist for the

Doak Walker Award Since 1990 the Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. It is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Football Lea ...

. Perry ranked 19th in the NCAA in rushing yards per game and ninth in all purpose yards per game. Against Wake Forest, Perry rushed for 276 yards. In his junior year, Perry was out with an injury until an October game against Duke. He immediately injured himself in the Duke game, and did not start again for the rest of the season. Perry appeared in five more games in 2002, averaging 4.7 yards per carry on the season. As a senior, Perry started four games and played in nine. He finished with 646 rushing yards despite being hampered by injuries all season. Against Wake Forest, Perry had 25 carries for 237 yards and three touchdowns. He finished his college career ranked fourth among Maryland's career rushing leaders.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Perry was drafted by the Eagles in the seventh round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater a ...

. He spent his entire

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

season on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. After the 2005 pre-season, he was placed on the practice squad. Later in the season, he was activated and saw his first

start Start can refer to multiple topics: *Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms * ...

in the final game of the regular season. Perry appeared in the 2006 pre-season and sustained a serious

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentratio ...

in the game. Even though Perry made the team, he was converted to

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

and then was cut in September when the Eagles signed veteran

Dexter Wynn Dexter Maurice Wynn (born February 25, 1981) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Colorado State. Wynn has also been a memb ...

for depth at cornerback. The team re-signed Perry to the practice squad. He was released on January 2, 2007.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Bruce 1981 births Living people American football running backs Players of American football from Philadelphia Players of Canadian football from Philadelphia Maryland Terrapins football players Philadelphia Eagles players