Darrell Russell (American football)
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Darrell Anthony Russell, Jr. (May 27, 1976 – December 15, 2005) was an American professional
Early life
Darrell Anthony Russell, Jr. was born in
College career
Russell attended the University of Southern California and, after a dominant 1996 season that featured 19 tackles for loss,[3] was taken second overall in the 1997 NFL draft by Al Davis and the Raiders.
Professional career
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 20-yard shuttle |
Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 4+5⁄8 in (1.95 m) |
321 lb (146 kg) |
35+1⁄8 in (0.89 m) |
10+1⁄2 in (0.27 m) |
4.80 s | 4.26 s | 7.65 s | 31.5 in (0.80 m) |
8 ft 0 in (2.44 m) |
25 reps | |||
[2] |
At 6-foot-5-inch (196 cm), 320-pounds Russell ran the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds.[2] Russell was selected with the second overall pick in the first round of the 1997 NFL Draft.[4] Russell's seven-year, $22 million contract in 1997 was at the time the richest rookie contract ever signed in the NFL.[5]
He went on to have 28.5 career sacks. After making the Pro Bowl in 1998 and 1999, averaging ten sacks per year, he was poised to have a dominant NFL career. However, the following season he failed a drug test, which his lawyer attributed to "second-hand smoke," and was later suspended for four games in 2001 for a second violation, this time for failing to be tested.
NFL statistics
Year | Team | GP | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Comb | Solo | Ast | Sack | FF | FR | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | |||
1997 | OAK | 16 | 43 | 34 | 9 | 3.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
1998 | OAK | 16 | 63 | 55 | 8 | 10.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
1999 | OAK | 16 | 43 | 32 | 11 | 9.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
2000 | OAK | 16 | 33 | 24 | 9 | 3.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
2001 | OAK | 11 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
2002 | OAK | 0 | Suspended | |||||||||||
2003 | WSH | 8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career[7] | 83 | 229 | 179 | 50 | 28.5 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
Acting career
In 2002, he played as himself in an episode of The Jersey called "Coleman's Big Date"[8] where at an Oakland Raiders football game, his date jumps into his body as Coleman Galloway (played by Jermaine Williams) jumps into a cheerleaders' body.
Personal
He was accused in 2002 of videotaping the rape of a woman—who had been drugged with
Death
On December 15, 2005, Russell was a passenger in a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by close friend and former USC teammate Michael Bastianelli[9] when it veered out of control, hitting several objects including a tree and a fire hydrant before hitting a parked bus. Both men were found unconscious and taken to area hospitals, where they were pronounced dead.[5]
References
- ^ "Darrell Russell". ESPN. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Berkow, Ira (April 20, 1997). "A Life Change for Mother and Son". The New York Times. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
- ^ a b "USC Blog". May 26, 2016.
- ^ "1997 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- ^ a b c Gay, Nancy (December 16, 2005). "Ex-Raider killed in crash: Troubled DT was trying to change life". San Francisco Chronicle.
- St. Petersburg Times.
- ^ "Darrell Russell Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ^ "The Jersey Season 3, Episode 6 Coleman's Big Date". Retrieved October 24, 2020.
- ^ Knapp, Gwen. "Mike Bastianelli Life Profile". Sfgate.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · ESPN · CBS Sports · Yahoo! Sports · SI.com · Pro Football Reference
- Darrell Russell profile Archived October 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine by the Oakland Raiders