Alan Sheffield Ball (born March 29, 1985) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

, and

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. He was drafted by the

in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. He was a contestant on the 35th season of '' Survivor'' ('' Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers''), where he placed 15th.

Early years

Ball attended Saint Martin de Porres High School in Detroit, Michigan. As a senior, he helped his team win the 2001 state championship in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, by making 15 interceptions 6 in the postseason). He received All-region honors. Also a standout

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete, he received All-State honors after winning back-to-back

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

state titles as a junior and senior.

College career

Ball accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

freshman, he appeared in 7 games with 5 starts, making 44 tackles, 4 passes defensed and one forced fumble. He had 11 tackles against the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. He doubled his starts (10) as a sophomore, finishing with 37 tackles (one for loss) and one pass defensed. He had 8 tackles against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

. As a junior, he appeared in all 11 games and started the final 7 contests. He registered 55 tackles (fourth on the team), one interception, 5 passes defensed (led the team) and 4 tackles for loss. He had 10 tackles (2 for loss) against the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. He made 9 tackles (one for loss) against

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. His best season came as a senior, when he received honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors, after recording 62 tackles (3 for loss), one interception, and 13 passes defensed (fifth in school history). He finished his college career with 199 tackles (8 for loss), 2 interceptions, 23 passes defensed (tied for eighth in school history), and one forced fumble.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Ball was selected by the

in the seventh round (237th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. He was waived on September 2 and spent the first 14 games of the season on the

practice squad In sports, 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. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

, before being promoted to the active roster on December 11. He made his NFL debut on December 22, against the

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, he appeared in 10 games, playing mainly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He missed the final two games with an ankle injury. He posted 4 defensive tackles, 5

tackles and one pass defensed. In

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, he was third on the team with 16

tackles. He made an appearance in all 16 games (during the 2009 season) for first time in his career, along with the first three starts of his career, collecting 18 tackles and three pass break-ups. In

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, with the changes that the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

was experiencing in the passing game,

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Wade Phillips Harold Wade Phillips (born June 21, 1947) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL. He has served as head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and Dallas Cowboys. He has also serve ...

thought he could develop into an effective

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

and switched him from his previous

position. He replaced

Ken Hamlin Ken Hamlin (born January 20, 1981) is a former American football safety in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft and also played for the Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens an ...

and started 16 games, registering 50 tackles, a half sack, two interceptions, five passes defensed, one

tackle and two forced fumbles. Ball started all 16 contests for first time in his career. In

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, he lost his starter job to

Abram Elam Abram Elam (born October 15, 1981) is a former American football safety in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame and ...

and returned to a backup

role, registering 32 tackles, one interception, six passes defensed and 5

tackles. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the season.

Houston Texans

On June 2,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, he was signed by the

, reuniting with former Cowboys head coach

. He played in 11 games with one start at

. He was declared inactive in the last 5 games with a foot injury. He finished second on the team with 13

tackles. He also had 7 defensive tackles and 3 passes defensed. He was not re-signed at the end of the season.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On March 15,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

by the

. He was named the starter at right cornerback (15 starts), finishing with career-highs in passes defensed (14), tackles (47) and interceptions (two). The 14 passes defensed were the most by a Jaguars player since

Rashean Mathis Rashean Jamil Mathis (; born August 27, 1980) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Bethune–Cookman University, and was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second r ...

' 21 in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. In

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, he started the first seven games, before sustaining a biceps injury against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

and 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 th ...

on October 28. He registered 22 tackles (one for loss), one interception, and three passes defensed.

Chicago Bears

On March 27,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, Ball signed with the

on a one-year deal. He struggled with a foot injury in training camp, but still was able to begin the regular season as a starter, losing his job to

Tracy Porter Tracy O'Neil Porter (born August 11, 1986) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. With the Saints, he won Super Bowl XLIV over the Indianapolis Colts, sealin ...

in the fourth game, who went on to start the rest of the year. Ball played primarily in dime packages, ending the year with 20 tackles and five pass breakups.

Arizona Cardinals

On August 4,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, Ball signed as a

with the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. He suffered a quadriceps injury a few days after signing. On August 30, he was released with an injury settlement.

Personal life

On August 30, 2017,

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

announced that Ball would be included in the cast of season 35 of '' Survivor''. He was initially placed on Levu (the Heroes tribe). After losing the first immunity challenge, Levu went to Tribal Council, where Ball caused trouble with fellow players JP Hilsabeck and Ashley Nolan, whom he saw as a power couple. At the tribal switch on Day Nine, he remained on the same tribe as Nolan, and they were forced to work together, to try to vote out Joe Mena of the former Soko (Healers) tribe. However, Mena had an idol, which he used to cancel the votes against him, thus sending Ball home. He was the fourth person voted out of the game, placing 15th.

References

External links

Illinois Fighting Illini bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Alan 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Detroit American football cornerbacks American football safeties Illinois Fighting Illini football players Dallas Cowboys players Houston Texans players Jacksonville Jaguars players Chicago Bears players Arizona Cardinals players Survivor (American TV series) contestants Saint Martin de Porres High School (Detroit) alumni