Darrell Hackney (born August 7, 1983) 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

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 ...

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 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

UAB Blazers The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs that represent the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The school is one of the fourteen member institutions of the American Athletic Conference and participates in Divisi ...

. He was signed by 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 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2006. Hackney was also a member of the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

and

Florida Tuskers Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Early life

Hackney attended Douglass High School in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and was a student and a letterman in football and baseball. In football, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution twice named him as an All-State Honorable Mention selection, and as a senior, he was also named the Atlanta Quarterback of the Year and his team's Most Valuable Player. Hackney graduated from Douglass High School in the year 2001.

College career

Attending college at the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

(UAB), he was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2001 as a

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

. Hackney currently holds several of the career UAB passing records, including passing yards (9,886 yards), touchdowns (71 touchdowns), completions (694 completions) and most total offense per game (243.4 yards per game). He also holds several single-season records for the Blazers.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Hackney was not drafted and was subsequently signed as a free agent with the

. The Browns cut him on September 2, 2006.

Denver Broncos

On January 2, 2007, he signed with the Denver Broncos. Hackney spent the training camp with the Broncos where he competed with Preston Parsons, and

Patrick Ramsey Patrick Allen Ramsey (born February 14, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave and was selected by the Washing ...

for the backup quarterback position. On August 31, 2008, Hackney was signed to the Broncos

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on November 1 after

was placed 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 ...

. Three days after the Broncos traded for

Kyle Orton Kyle Raymond Orton (born November 14, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback. He played college football for Purdue, where he started four straight bowl games. He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the f ...

, Hackney was waived on April 6, 2009.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Hackney was signed by the

on May 28, 2009. He was released on June 8, 2009.

Florida Tuskers

Hackney was signed by the

of the United Football League, but was released prior to the 2009 season on September 26.

References

External links

Denver Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackney, Darrell 1983 births Living people Players of American football from Atlanta American football quarterbacks Players of Canadian football from Atlanta Canadian football quarterbacks UAB Blazers football players Cleveland Browns players Denver Broncos players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Florida Tuskers players