Ryan Craig Denney (born June 15, 1977) 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

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 ...

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

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

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the Big 12 C ...

and was selected by the

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 ...

in the second round of the

2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...

with the 61st overall pick. Denney also played for 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 ...

Early life

Denney attended Horizon High School (

Thornton, Colorado Thornton is a home rule municipality located in Adams and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 141,867, all in Adams County, at the 2020 United States census, an increase of 19.44% since the 2010 United States cen ...

) and won three varsity letters in football and two in basketball. In football, as a senior, he was named the Denver Post Defensive Player of the Year, won All-Conference honors as both an offensive lineman and as a defensive lineman, and won All-State honors as a defensive lineman. Denney graduated from Horizon High School in 1995. He served as a

Mormon missionary Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—often referred to as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and ...

for two years in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

before playing for Brigham Young University in college.

College career

Denney was two-year starter at BYU and finished his career with 156 tackles (92 solos), 16 quarterback sacks, 40 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 13 pass deflections. As a senior, was a Second-team All-America selection by The NFL Draft Report, earning fourth-team honors from The Sporting News He was an Academic All-American and a First-team All-Mountain West Conference selection. He started all year at right defensive end and recorded 68 tackles (45 solos) as he led the team with seven sacks and 19 tackles for losses and intercepted a pass and ranked second on the squad with eight pass deflections. In 2000, he earned Academic All-Mountain West Conference honors. He missed the 1996–97 season while serving on a mission in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Ryan had a spectacular game against 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 ...

on September 17, 2006, when he recorded 3 sacks on Miami quarterback,

Daunte Culpepper Daunte Rachard Culpepper (born January 28, 1977) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football for the U ...

in just the first half of the game. On August 17, 2007, during the opening kickoff of a preseason game against 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 ...

, Denney suffered a broken bone in his foot. He was one of three Bills position players to play in every year since 2003. At the end of the 2007 NFL season he had played in the league for six years. He caught a touchdown in the Bills season opener vs Seattle on September 7, 2008 from a

Brian Moorman Brian Donald Moorman (born February 5, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pittsburg State Gorillas, and was signed by the Seattle ...

pass on a fake field goal and one more vs New Orleans on September 27, 2009, again from a Moorman pass on a fake field goal. On February 27, 2010, the

announced that they would not be offering Ryan Denney a contract which rendered him an unrestricted free agent.

Houston Texans

On September 15, 2010, the

announced they had signed Denney to an undisclosed contract. On October 7, 2010, the Texans waived Denney.

NFL career statistics

Family

Ryan is the brother of

long snapper In gridiron football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a Center (gridiron football), center on American football positions#Special teams, special teams whose duty is to Snap (gridiron football), snap the football over a longer distance, ty ...

John Denney John Sifford Denney (born December 13, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a long snapper for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the BYU Cougars, and was sign ...

, who also wears number 92 on his jersey. Ryan and his wife, Laura have four daughters, Kyle, Kate, Alli and Samantha, and two sons, Tyler and Will. He is also the brother-in-law of Doug Jolley, former

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 ...

tight end for 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 ...

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denney, Ryan 1977 births Living people Players of American football from Denver American football defensive ends American Mormon missionaries in Argentina 20th-century Mormon missionaries BYU Cougars football players Buffalo Bills players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Latter Day Saints from Colorado Sportspeople from Thornton, Colorado