Izell Reese (born May 7, 1974) is a former professional

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 ...

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) 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 ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, and

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 ...

. 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 Alabama at Birmingham.

Early years

Reese attended Northview High School, where he led the football team with 5 interceptions as a senior. He also lettered in

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 ...

. Although he came to the University of Alabama at Birmingham as an unrecruited walk-on athlete, he was named the starter at strong safety as a freshman, making 10 tackles and leading the team with 4 interceptions. The next season, he registered 70 tackles, 1 interception and posted 18 tackles—the third best single-game total in school history—against

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...

. As a junior, he recorded 69 tackles (second on the team), 5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. In his last year, he collected 83 tackles (4 for loss) and closed out his eligibility with a school-record 85-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 Arkansas State University. During his time in college, the University of Alabama at Birmingham went from

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

to I-AA and on to Division I-A. He finished second in career tackles (276), first in solo tackles (188), fourth in career interceptions (8), first in career interception return yardage (135 yards) and first with 44 games (38 starts out of 44).

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys (first stint)

Reese was selected by the

in the sixth round (188th overall) of the 1998 NFL draft, becoming the second UAB player ever to be selected in the

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

(after Dainon Sidney). The coaches were intrigued by his size/speed ratio but decided to keep him at

. Although he wasn't expected to make an impact, he contributed in the "45" and

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

packages, while also emerging as the team's leader in special teams tackles with 21. He was a key player in the Cowboys leading the NFL in kickoff coverage (18.5 yards) and finishing third in punt coverage (6.2 yards). Despite missing the final 8 games of the 1999 season with a herniated disc in his neck, he tied for second on the team with 3 interceptions, registered 28 tackles, 5 passes defensed, 6 special teams tackles and 2 quarterback pressures. After overcoming a career-threatening neck injury in the 2000 season, he became a seven-game starter at free safety in place of an injured George Teague, finishing first on the team in special teams tackles (22), second in interceptions (2) and eighth in tackles (72). 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 ...

, the team tried to convert him into a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

, but after starting the first four games, he was replaced with Duane Hawthorne at left cornerback and was moved back to

. He registered 37 tackles (24 solo), 3 sacks (fourth on the team), 3 passes defensed, one interception and 8 special teams tackles.

Denver Broncos

On March 15,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, he signed as a

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 ...

with the

. He earned the starting free safety position, finishing with 58 tackles 5 quarterback pressures, one pass defensed and 3 special teams tackles.

Buffalo Bills

On March 21,

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 ...

, he signed as a

with the

. He started 9 out of 13 games at free safety, before being placed on the

injured reserve list 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 t ...

on December 17. He collected 33 tackles, one quarterback pressure and 6 special teams tackles. In

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 ...

, he was named the starter at free safety, until he was passed on the depth chart by rookie Rashad Baker in the 10th game and was declared inactive during the rest of the season. He posted 48 tackles, one interception and one quarterback pressure.

Dallas Cowboys (second stint)

On June 3,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, he was signed by the

to provide depth after the retirement of

Darren Woodson. He was released on August 24.

NFL statistics

Personal life

Reese retired in 2005 and is now the EVP of Next College Student Athlete and GM of the Rivals Combine Series, camps and combines for high school football players. He is the co-founder of Rising Seniors, a program that gives top athletes in the Junior year of high school the opportunity to have a "rookie camp" experience and coaching on making the most of college opportunities and the recruiting process. The annual program ends with a "Junior Bowl" that gives college recruiters a glimpse of new talent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reese, Izell 1974 births Living people Players of American football from Dothan, Alabama American football safeties UAB Blazers football players Dallas Cowboys players Denver Broncos players Buffalo Bills players