Darrell McClover (born August 25, 1981) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

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). He was selected by 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

in the seventh round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

and also played for the

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 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 Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

. While at Miami, McClover played alongside

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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

star Jonathan Vilma and

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

linebacker D.J. Williams.

Professional career

NFL Combine

At the

NFL 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 Footba ...

, McClover ran the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

in 4.47 seconds. He had a

vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

of . He did the

three-cone drill The three-cone drill, 3-cone drill or L-drill is a test performed by American football players. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by scouts. It is most commonly seen at the NFL Combine in p ...

in 6.7 seconds. McClover did the

20 yard shuttle 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 Footba ...

in 4.19 seconds. He did 26

bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...

reps. He had a broad jump of .

New York Jets

McClover was selected in the 2004 NFL Draft out of

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

by the New York Jets and played in all sixteen games in his rookie year, making 25 special teams tackles. He also made 2 special teams tackles in the post season in 2005 and was selected as a pro bowl alternate. In 2005, McClover was named starting weak side linebacker, but had a season ending ankle injury in the pre season which ended that season. McClover spent two seasons with the New York Jets from 2004-2006.

Chicago Bears

He was signed by the

in 2006. In Chicago, he was a standout in special teams, but saw limited action on defense. In 2006 against Tampa Bay, he recorded 8 special teams tackles. McClover has over 80 special teams tackles in his career and also has 2 blocked punts to his credit. He was a part of the 2007 NFC championship team and 2007 Super Bowl team. McClover spent a large part of the 2008 season on special teams. He blocked a punt against Carolina in week 2 and was the leading tackler until being put on injured reserve in week 10. He re-signed with the Bears in September 2009. His last game with the Bears was in January 2010 against the Detroit Lions. He finished his career as a Bear where he recorded 83 special teams tackles and 2 blocked punts and a forced fumble for his career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClover, Darrell 1981 births Living people American football linebackers Chicago Bears players Miami Hurricanes football players New York Jets players Players of American football from Florida Sportspeople from Hollywood, Florida