Donovin Lee Darius (born August 12, 1975) 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

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 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

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 ...

25th overall in the 1998 NFL draft, and played for nine seasons with the team. He played for the

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

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 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 Syracuse.

College career

Darius played for two years at

Highland Regional High School Highland Regional High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Gloucester Township in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school is located in the Blackwood ...

in Blackwood, New Jersey, before transferring for the start of his junior year. Darius is a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

. Darius played at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, setting the team record for tackles by a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

with 379. He was a

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

All-Conference player in 1995 and 1996, and also lettered in indoor and outdoor hurdles, graduating in 1997 with a degree in exercise science and a minor in coaching.

Professional career

Darius was selected in the first round with the 25th overall pickin the 1998 NFL draft by the

, then the highest pick ever by the team for a defensive back. He was the sixth defensive back selected, behind Tebucky Jones, Duane Starks, and others. He was named to the All-Rookie team and led Jaguar defensive backs with 108 tackles in 14 games. In 1999, he switched to strong safety and continued to sharpen his skills as a defensive force. In 2004, Darius led the secondary in tackles for a seventh straight season and posted career highs in forced fumbles and interceptions. His season-ending injury in 2005 stopped his consecutive start streak at 37. In 2004, Darius was ejected and fined $75,000 for an illegal clothesline tackle on

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

Robert Ferguson. However, Darius later apologized to Ferguson for the incident by calling him at the hospita

Prior to his release, he had been with the Jaguars longer than any other active player along with

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 ...

Fred Taylor. Darius signed a three-year extension on August 29, 2005, which put him under contract through

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. However, he tore his

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during the Jaguars' second game of the 2005 NFL season and 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 ...

. On November 20, 2006, during a ''

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'' game against the

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

, he broke his leg and missed the rest of the 2006 season. On December 14, 2006, Darius was released by the Jaguars. Donovin signed with 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 ...

on January 1, 2007, but was released in the final roster cuts. He was subsequently signed by the

, but was released again in October. Darius signed a one-day ceremonial contract with the Jaguars on March 1, 2013, to retire as a member of the team. He currently serves on the NFL Players Association Executive Committee and resides in Jacksonville, Florida, where he earned an MBA from Jacksonville University

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Darius was arrested and charged with DUI after crashing his car on the morning of January 26, 2020. He was subsequently transported to a Jacksonville area hospital for a mental health evaluation after telling rescue workers he had ingested 20 to 30 pills and that he was suicidal.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Darius, Donovin American football safeties Syracuse Orange football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Oakland Raiders players Miami Dolphins players 1975 births Living people Highland Regional High School alumni Sportspeople from Gloucester Township, New Jersey Players of American football from Camden County, New Jersey Players of American football from Camden, New Jersey Eastside High School (Camden, New Jersey) alumni