Terry Michael Billups (born February 9, 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 ...

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 ...

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

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He also was a member of the

Rhein Fire Rhein Fire may refer to either of two American football franchises: * Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany ...

Los Angeles Xtreme The Los Angeles Xtreme was a professional American football team based in Los Angeles, California. The team was a member of the original version of the XFL (2001), XFL, begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major ...

and

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

. 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 North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

Early life

Billups attended Oak Ridge High School. As a senior, he was a two-way player, collecting 88 tackles, 4 interceptions, 32 carries for 325 yards, 5 receptions of 140 yards and 4 touchdowns. He received All-Central Florida honors and was a two-time All-conference and All-county selection. He also lettered in track. As a senior, he won the state title in the

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a rac ...

and was named the Orlando Downtown Athletic Club's Scholar-Athlete.

College career

Billups accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a redshirt freshman, he appeared in 12 games with 4 starts. As a sophomore, he missed spring practice while recovering from shoulder surgery. He started 10 games at cornerback. As a junior, he had a second offseason shoulder surgery. He was a backup at cornerback, registering 7 tackles, 4 passes defensed and one interception. As a senior, he was a backup cornerback on a defense that was ranked second in the nation, that included future NFL players like Greg Ellis,

Brian Simmons Brian Eugene Simmons (born June 21, 1975) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a linebacker for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of North ...

, Dré Bly,

Vonnie Holliday Dimetry Giovonni Holliday (born December 11, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels and was selected by ...

, Omar Brown, Kivuusama Mays, Russell Davis,

Robert Williams Robert, Rob, Robbie, Bob or Bobby Williams may refer to: Architecture * Train %26 Williams#Robert Edmund Williams, Robert Edmund Williams (1874–1960), Canadian-American architect * Robert Williams (architect) (1848–1918), Welsh architect a ...

Ebenezer Ekuban Ebenezer Ekuban Jr. (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, and Denver Broncos. He played college football fo ...

Keith Newman Keith Anthony Newman (born January 19, 1977) is an American former professional football linebacker. He played college football at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Chapel Hill) and was selecte ...

and Nate Hobgood-Chittick. He posted 10 tackles and one forced fumble. He had 5 tackles and one forced fumble against

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Professional career

In 1998, he was signed as an

undrafted 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 ...

by the

. He was waived before the start of the season on August 25 and later signed to the practice squad. He was released on September 10. On September 15, 1998, he was signed to 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 ...

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He was released on September 30. On September 30, 1998, he was signed to the

. He was promoted to the active roster on November 24. He appeared in one game and had one pass defensed against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. He did not play 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 was released on December 7. He was re-signed to the practice squad on December 9. On February 18, 1999, he was allocated to the

Scottish Claymores The Scottish Claymores, were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

. He suffered a back injury during training camp and was placed on the

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 April 16, before being released. On May 4, he was signed by the

, where he collected 4 tackles, one pass defensed, and one special teams tackle. He was released by the Cowboys before the start of the season on September 1. On December 15, 1999, 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 appeared in 2 games with one start. On March 13, 2000, the team rescinded his tender offer, making him a

. In 2001, he signed with the

of the XFL. He appeared in 10 games as a backup cornerback, making 18 tackles and 3 interceptions. On May 10, 2001, he signed with the

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. He appeared in 10 games with 7 starts, posting 13 tackles and one interception.

Personal life

His brother

Lewis Billups Lewis Kenneth Billups, Jr. (October 10, 1963 – April 9, 1994) was an American professional football cornerback who played seven seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers in the National Football League (NFL), recording nine ...

played defensive back in the

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 ...

. Billups opened his own law firm in 2019.

References

External links

Los Angeles Xtreme bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Billups, Terry 1975 births Living people American football defensive backs North Carolina Tar Heels football players Dallas Cowboys players Scottish Claymores players Rhein Fire players New England Patriots players Los Angeles Xtreme players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Players of American football from Orlando, Florida Players of Canadian football from Orlando, Florida