Darnell Bing (born September 10, 1984) 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 ...

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). He was selected by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

in the fourth round of the

2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...

. 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

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

. Bing was also a member of the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

Early life

Bing attended

Long Beach Polytechnic High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

. He was a part of a Poly team that had five players ranked in the top 100 in the nation according to Rivals.com:

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

Marcedes Lewis,

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

Winston Justice,

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

Manuel Wright,

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 ...

Hershel Dennis and himself. Bing was a member of the USC football team in college along with all of these high school teammates, except for Lewis who played for USC's crosstown archrival,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

College career

Bing played safety for the

, and received permission from USC athletic director

Mike Garrett Michael Lockett Garrett (born April 12, 1944) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) with the Kansas City Chiefs and S ...

(USC's 1965

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

-winning tailback) to wear Garrett's retired No. 20 jersey. He was ruled academically ineligible his first year, but Bing started on all three other years of his collegiate career and was on two national championship teams. He was named a

Jim Thorpe Award The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athle ...

finalist as the nation's best collegiate football defensive back and an

All-America 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 ...

n in 2005. He was an early entry candidate in the 2006 NFL Draft, winding up in the fourth round. In his final season at Southern California, Bing had an interception in the final minutes of the game against

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

that sealed the win for the Trojans.

Awards and honors

* Honorable mention All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

(2003) * ''Sporting News'' Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (2003) * ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' Freshman

n (2003) * Second-team All-Pac-10 (2004) * First-team All-Pac-10 (2005) * First-team AP All-American (2005) *

semifinalist (2005) *

Lott Trophy The Lott IMPACT Trophy is presented annually to a defensive college football player of the year for their personal character and athletic abilities. IMPACT is an acronym for: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. T ...

quarterfinalist (2005)

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

He was selected by the

with the 101st pick of the

. Although he was a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

in college, the Oakland Raiders planned to convert him to an

outside 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 lin ...

, but before the 2007 season they moved him back to safety. Prior to the 2006 season, the Raiders placed Bing on the injured reserve list with a neck injury. On July 25, 2007, the Raiders released him.

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers claimed Bing off waivers on July 26, 2007. They released him on September 1 and re-signed him to the practice squad, where he spent the entire 2007 season.

New York Jets

On January 9, 2008, the

signed Bing to a future contract. He was waived by the team on July 29.

Detroit Lions

Bing was signed by the

on August 4, 2008, after the team placed linebacker Teddy Lehman 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 ...

. As the Raiders had unsuccessfully tried, the Lions also converted him to linebacker. He began the season on the team's practice squad before being promoted to the active roster on December 8, 2008, when linebacker Alex Lewis was placed on injured reserve. He was released on October 6, 2009.

Houston Texans

Bing signed a contract for the 2010 season on January 8, 2010. He was released at the end of the preseason and signed to the practice squad on October 14. On February 18, 2011, Bing was released from the Texans roster.

References

External links

*
USC Trojans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bing, Darnell 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Long Beach, California American football safeties American football linebackers USC Trojans football players Oakland Raiders players San Francisco 49ers players New York Jets players Detroit Lions players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni