Darren Hambrick (born August 30, 1975) is a former

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

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) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

and 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 ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, before transferring to the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

Early years

Hambrick and his brother

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

attended Pasco High School, helping the football team win the 1992 Class 3A state championship. As a senior he posted 140 tackles at

, receiving prep

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 ...

, All-state and area defensive MVP honors. In track, he was the first athlete in Florida history to qualify for 5 events at the state track meet. He

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

ed 7'1 3/4" as a senior. He also practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. In 1999, he was chosen as the best

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 in Pasco County history by the

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute f ...

College career

Hambrick accepted a football scholarship from the

. He was the only true freshman to start a game on defense for the team. He played in 13 games (3 starts) as a "Nickel" linebacker, receiving SEC All-Freshman honors after collecting 46 tackles (5 for loss), 2 interceptions and one sack. As a sophomore, he had 59 tackles (3 for loss), 3 passes defensed, one sack, a forced fumble, one fumble recovery and 2 interceptions, including an 81-yard interception return for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

against the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. He also competed in the

and

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

for the Gators track team in 1993 and 1994. Head coach

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nicknam ...

kicked him off the team just prior to the 1995

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

, after he got into an altercation in which he struck another player in the jaw with broken glass. Hambrick transferred to the

and sat out the 1995 season under NCAA transfer rules. As a junior, he was named honorable-mention

All-SEC The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: * ...

, after making 83 tackles (4 for loss), 1.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He had a career-high 13 tackles against the

. Entering his senior season in 1997, he was named the starter at

weakside 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 ...

, but fractured his left fibula in the season opener against the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

. He missed 7 games before returning against the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

. He started in the season finale against

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, making three tackles.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Hambrick was selected by the

in the fifth round (130th overall) of the

1998 NFL draft The 1998 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 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

, after dropping because of injuries concerns. As a rookie, he finished second on the team with 18

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles. In

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, he earned the starting job at strongside linebacker for most of the season (12 starts), finishing with 62 tackles (eighth on the team), 2.5 sacks, 3 quarterback pressures, 2 interceptions, a forced fumble and 10

tackles. Prior to the final regular season game, the team convinced

Quentin Coryatt Quentin John Coryatt (born August 1, 1970) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Texas A&M University. He is distinguished as be ...

to unretire and replace Hambrick in the starting lineup. Coryatt ended up getting hurt and Hambrick started in the Cowboys' playoff loss to the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. On January 26,

, he was arrested after fleeing from police officers who tried to pull him over for speeding. Hambrick was seen as a rising player after being the team's leading tackler (154) in the 2000 season, but personal problems started to surface when he refused to come out of the final regular-season game and ignored head coach

Dave Campo David Cross Campo (born July 18, 1947) is an American football coach and former player. Campo served as the head coach for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) from 2000 to 2002, compiling a record of 15 wins and 33 losses. He ...

when he was approached after the game. He also engaged in a contract dispute with the Cowboys during the offseason, after feeling mistreated as a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

, when he was tendered an offer of $512,000. After missing two of three minicamps in a protest over his salary, Campo demoted him to second string during the first two weeks of training camp in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. He was suspended for the Cowboys' final preseason game and the regular-season opener, because of a curfew violation while the team was in Mexico City to finish the preseason. Hambrick was released by the Cowboys on October 23,

, because of personal conflicts and violations of team rules, even though at the time he was fourth on the team with 22 tackles through the first five games of the year. In Dallas he is best known for replying "What do voluntary mean?" when asked why he did not report to offseason workouts in

. His quote is often referenced in jest by the Dallas sports media.

Carolina Panthers

On October 24,

, he was claimed off waivers by the

, starting in eight of nine games and leading the team in tackles twice. During his tenure with the team, he reported as stolen a paycheck from the Panthers he had already cashed. At the end of the season, he wasn't re-signed.

Cleveland Browns

Hambrick signed with the

for the 2002 season to replace Jamir Miller at strongside linebacker, starting 15 games and helping the team reach the playoffs. Although he was arrested on a grand theft charge, the Browns offered a $520,000 one-year contract which he turned down to negotiate better conditions. He was not re-signed, ending a five-year

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

career that was cut short because of his off-the-field issues.

Tampa Bay Storm

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, he was signed to the practice squad of the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

, but was waived on June 6.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Hambrick is the brother of former NFL

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 ...

Troy Hambrick and is also related to former Major League Pitcher Mudcat Grant. Among a number of criminal incidents, on November 20, 2008, Hambrick was sentenced to 12 months

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

after pleading guilty to misdemeanor battery. He then violated his probation in May 2010 and in July 2010 had his probation revoked and was sentenced to 30 days in the Pasco County Jail.

References

External links

Image is everything
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hambrick, Darren 1975 births Living people American football outside linebackers Carolina Panthers players Cleveland Browns players Dallas Cowboys players Florida Gators football players Players of American football from Pasco County Florida South Carolina Gamecocks football players Tampa Bay Storm players Pasco High School (Florida) alumni 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen