Ian Maurice Gold (born August 23, 1978) 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 played as 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 ...

for eight seasons 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 for 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 ...

from

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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 ...

and for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. He appeared in 115 NFL games, 80 as a starter, registered 422

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, and was selected to play in the

2002 Pro Bowl The 2002 Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2001 season. The game was played on February 9, 2002, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final score was AFC 38, NFC 30. Rich Gannon of the Oakland Raiders was the game's MVP. A ...

. Gold 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

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

from

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

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 ...

and was a member of the undefeated

1997 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1997 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1997 Big Ten Conference football season. In its third year under head coach Lloyd Carr, Michigan compiled a perfect 12–0 record, won the Big Ten Conferenc ...

that was ranked #1 in the final AP Poll. He was selected as a first-team linebacker on both the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and 1999 All-Big Ten teams.

Early years

In August 1978, Gold was born at University Hospital in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

, where his parents were both students at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. He attended

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

. In middle school, he developed a passion for the arts, while enjoying time with his friends. As a high school senior in 1995, Gold rushed for 950 yards and 21 TDs on 98 carries, giving him an average of 9.6 yards per rush. Gold earned All-West Wayne Offensive MVP and was selected to the

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on February ...

All-State Dream Team after his senior campaign.

University of Michigan

Gold enrolled at the

in 1996 and played

for head coach

Lloyd Carr Lloyd Henry Carr Jr. (born July 30, 1945) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Michigan from 1995 through the 2007 season, replacing Gary Moeller. Under Carr, the Michigan Wolve ...

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the List of NCAA football teams by wins, most all-time wins in college football ...

teams from 1996 to 1999. As a sophomore, Gold started one game at inside linebacker for the undefeated

that outscored opponents 322–144, won the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

championship, defeated

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

in the

1998 Rose Bowl The 1998 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game, part of the 1997–98 college bowl season, played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The 84th Rose Bowl Game, it featured top-ranked Michigan beating Washington State 21� ...

, and was ranked #1 in the final AP Poll. Gold had 34 tackles in 1997, including three solo tackles in the

.(to retrieve Gold's statistics, enter "gold" in the box for the player's last name and "russell" in the box for player's first name) Gold started eight games at inside linebacker in

, and then, as a senior, started all 12 games at the position for the 1999 Michigan team that compiled a 10–2 record and was ranked #5 in the final AP and ESPN/Coaches Polls. Gold led the 1999 team with 95 tackles, including 71 solo tackles, and was selected by the conference coaches as a first-team linebacker on the

1999 All-Big Ten Conference football team The 1999 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players chosen as All-Big Ten Conference players for the 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season. The conference recognizes two official All-Big Ten selectors: (1) the Bi ...

. He won the 1999

Roger Zatkoff Roger Zatkoff (March 25, 1931 – November 4, 2021) was an American professional football player and businessman. A native of Hamtramck, Michigan, Zatkoff played college football for the Michigan Wolverines from 1950 to 1952 and was selected a ...

Award as the team's top linebacker.

Professional football

Gold was selected by the

in the second round (40th overall pick) of the

2000 NFL draft The 2000 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Theat ...

. He appeared in all 32 regular season games for the Broncos in 2000 and 2001, but was not a starter. In 2002, Gold started all 16 games 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 ...

and totaled 85 tackles and 6.5

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackle (football move), tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the l ...

s. Gold began the 2003 season on a strong note with 10 tackles and his first career interception return for a touchdown in the opening game against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. However, he sustained an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

in his right leg on a special teams play during the sixth game of the 2003 season against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. He missed the remainder of the season and underwent surgery to repair the injury. In April 2004, the Broncos stopped contract negotiations with Gold after drafting D. J. Williams in the first 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 from April 24–25, 2004, at the Theate ...

. Four days later, Gold signed as a free agent with the

. The contract was for seven years and $38 million with a $1.3 million signing bonus, though the contract only guaranteed the signing bonus and gave the team the option to release him after the 2004 season. Gold appeared in all 16 games for the Buccaneers, including 13 as the team's starting

strongside 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 early March 2005, the Buccaneers cut Gold to the free agent market rather than pay him a reported $9.6 million option bonus. After being cut by the Buccaneers, Gold re-joined the Broncos in March 2005. He appeared in all 16 regular season games and registered 72 tackles and three sacks. He helped lead the 2005 Broncos to a 13–3 record and a spot in the AFC Championship Game. He remained with the Broncos for two more seasons, starting 15 games in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and 14 games in

. On February 29, 2008, the Broncos released him after three seasons.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Later years

In 2012, Gold's autobiography, "Plant Water Grow" was published.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gold, Ian 1978 births American Conference Pro Bowl players American football linebackers Denver Broncos players Living people Michigan Wolverines football players Players of American football from Ann Arbor, Michigan Tampa Bay Buccaneers players