Randolph Starks Jr. (born December 14, 1983) is an American

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 ...

coach and former player. He is the head football coach for

Eureka College Eureka College is a private college in Eureka, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1855, it is related by covenant to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The college enrolled approximately 559 students in 2023. Eureka College was founde ...

, a position he has held since 2024. Starks played professionally as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for 12 seasons, from 2004 to 2015, 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) with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play 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 ...

, and

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

for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

. Starks was selected by the Titans in the third round of the 2004 NFL draft.

Early life

An army brat, Starks spent the first five years of his life in Germany because his father, Randolph Sr., was stationed there with the United States Army. He was eventually re-deployed to

Fort Belvoir Fort Belvoir ( ) is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir (plantation), Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Lord ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Starks attended Westlake High School in Waldorf, Maryland, where he was a letterman in

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 ...

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 ...

and track. In football, he was an honorable mention all-state selection as a junior

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

after recording 67 tackles, six sacks and two forced fumbles. He was a ''SuperPrep''

All-America 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 ...

n as a senior with 77 tackles, seven sacks and two forced fumbles. He also played

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

during his final two seasons at Westlake. Starks finished his prep career with 194 tackles while ranking third in school history in sacks. Starks also earned four letters competing in basketball and track. In

, he was the leading scorer and rebounder in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference (SMAC) as a junior. As a senior, he led his team to a 23–3 record and was named Southern Maryland's Basketball Player of the Year by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. He finished his career with 1,011 points scored and 682 rebounds. In

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

, Starks was a two-time state qualifier in both the shot put and discus throw. At the 2001 Maryland State Meet, he earned a second-place finish in the discus, with a throw of 43.28 meters (141 ft, 9 in), while also placing third in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

, with a throw of 15.80 meters (51 ft, 8 in). In addition, he reportedly bench-pressed 320 pounds and had a 32-inch vertical leap.

College career

Following high school, Starks chose to attend the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

over schools such as

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

and

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

. He wore No. 57 for the Maryland Terrapins football team. Starks appeared in 11 games as a true freshman in 2001, including the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...

against

Florida 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 ...

. During the season, he recorded 35 tackles (24 solo), seven tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks. His performance earned him a fourth-team

n selection by ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

''. Starks was nominated for ACC Rookie of the Week honors following a game against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

in which he recorded eight tackles, 1.5 sacks and forced a fumble in overtime. As a sophomore in 2002, Starks appeared in all 14 games for the Terrapins including the

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Grant Field on the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech c ...

against

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. He earned second-team All- ACC honors after recording 93 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 12.5 tackles for a loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and six passes defensed. His tackle total ranked third on the team, his sack total second on the team while his 17 quarterback hurries led the team. Prior to his junior season, Starks was named the preseason ACC Defensive Player of the Year by ESPN.com and was on the watchlist for the

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lombard ...

and

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best 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 g ...

. He appeared in 13 games for the Terrapins in 2003 on his way to first-team All-ACC honors. He finished the season with 74 tackles (39 solo), 15.5 tackles for a loss, 7.5 sacks, a forced fumble and three passes defensed. His tackles for a loss total led the team while ranking fourth in the conference. Starks was named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week following a game against

in which he had eight tackles (five solo), three tackles for a loss and a sack of

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 ...

Matt Schaub. Starks decided to forgo his senior season at Maryland and instead declare for the 2004 NFL draft at the age of 20. A two-time All-ACC selection, he finished his college career with 38 games played, 201 tackles (111 solo), 34 tackles for a loss, 17.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and nine passes defensed.

College statistics

Key: GP – games played; Total – total tackles; Solo – solo tackles; Ast – assisted tackles; TFL – tackles for loss; Sck – quarterback sacks; FF – forced fumbles; FR – fumble recoveries; INT – interceptions; PD – passes defensed; TD – touchdowns

Professional career

Pre-draft

Prior to the 2004 NFL draft, Starks attended the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

and met with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

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 ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

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 ...

and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. In April, he visited with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

Tennessee Titans

Starks was drafted by the

in the third round (71st overall) of the 2004 NFL draft. The pick used to draft him was acquired from the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

in a draft day trade. He was initially unable to attend offseason workouts due to a league rule preventing rookies from participating in team activities before their school year has been completed. Starks agreed to terms on a contract with the Titans on July 28. He wore No. 90 for the team. As a rookie in 2004, Starks appeared in all but two games for the Titans and started eight games. He made his NFL debut on September 11 against the

, sacking

A. J. Feeley. During the season, he also sacked Carson Palmer ( Bengals), Craig Krenzel (

Bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout most o ...

) and David Carr ( Texans). His 4.5 sacks on the year led all rookie defensive tackles, including six players – Tommie Harris, Vince Wilfork, Marcus Tubbs, Darnell Dockett, Junior Siavii, Tank Johnson – drafted before him. Additionally, he recorded 53 tackles, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, a pass defensed and a blocked field goal on the season. He forced fumbles against Krenzel and

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the In ...

( Colts) while blocking a Kris Brown kick against the

. With the Titans reportedly impressed with Starks' rookie campaign, he worked with the first-team defense during the 2005 offseason. He wound up started all 16 regular season games for the Titans that season, recording 78 tackles and three sacks. His sacks came against Anthony Wright (

Ravens Ravens may refer to: * Raven, a species of the genus ''Corvus'' of passerine birds Sports * Anderson Ravens, the intercollegiate athletic program of Anderson University in Indiana * Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football franchise * B ...

), Marc Bulger (

Rams In engineering, reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS)Gus Frerotte (Dolphins). In 2006, Starks appeared in all 16 games for the second straight season and started eight of them. He finished the year with 56 tackles, three sacks and a fumble recovery. In the season opener against the

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

, he recovered a Chad Pennington fumble that led to a Titans touchdown on the next play. Against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

on November 19, Starks returned a Jeff Garcia fumble 26 yards before lateraling it to

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 ...

Keith Bulluck, who took it 16 more yards for a score. His sacks that season came against David Carr (Texans) and David Garrard (

Jaguars The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat species in the Americas an ...

). 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 ...

in the 2007 offseason, Starks was tendered a contract by the Titans on March 1. He went on to appear in 14 games for the Titans that season but started a career-low four games. He recorded 39 tackles and fumble recovery on the year but failed to record a sack for the first time in his career. In a

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

contest against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, he recovered a

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is sec ...

fumble forced by Travis LaBoy. He became an

unrestricted 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 ...

following the season.

Miami Dolphins

On February 29, 2008, Starks signed with the

. He signed a five-year, $21 million contract with $7 million guaranteed. In April, it was reported he would see playing time at both right

and

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

. In 2012, Starks joined Cameron Wake as the first two players in Dolphins history to earn Pro Bowl honors at two different positions (NT, DE). On March 11, 2015, the Dolphins released Starks making him a free agent.

Cleveland Browns

On March 16, 2015, Starks signed with the

. On February 18, 2016, Starks was released. Starks's only season with the Browns ended with 29 tackles, one sack, and one fumble recovered.

Professional statistics

Key: GP – games played; GS – games started; Total – total tackles; Solo – solo tackles; Ast – assisted tackles; Sck – quarterback sacks; FF – forced fumbles; FR – fumble recoveries; INT – interceptions; PD – passes defensed; TD – touchdowns

Coaching career

Starks is pursuing a master's degree from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

which he expects to finish up in the fall of 2022. Starks coached football at Virginia's Manassas Park High School in 2020, as offensive and defensive line coach, and in 2021 as head coach. He resigned in August 2022 ahead of the school cancelling its upcoming season. He then worked at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia as the defensive line coach. Starks is now the head football coach at

Eureka, Illinois Eureka is a city and the county seat of Woodford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,295 at the 2010 census. Eureka is part of the Peoria metropolitan area. Eureka is a small community centered on the intersection of what is ...

Legal issues

On May 24, 2009, Starks was arrested on Ocean Drive in

South Beach South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a Neighborhoods of Miami Beach, Florida, neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

after his vehicle made contact with a traffic officer during the busy Memorial Day Weekend festivities. All charges were dropped in July 2009. In November 2016, Starks prevailed in a civil suit against the arresting officer after a jury determined that he was not liable for the events occurring during the traffic stop on May 24, 2009.

Head coaching record

College

High school

References

External links

Maryland Terrapins bio

Miami Dolphins bio

Cleveland Browns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starks, Randy 1983 births Living people American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Cleveland Browns players Eureka Red Devils football coaches LaGrange Panthers football coaches Maryland Terrapins football players Miami Dolphins players New York Jets coaches Tennessee Titans players High school football coaches in Maryland High school football coaches in Virginia American Conference Pro Bowl players People from Waldorf, Maryland Sportspeople from Petersburg, Virginia Coaches of American football from Maryland Players of American football from Maryland African-American coaches of American football 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen