Dwayne Anthony Missouri (born December 23, 1978) is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers. He also was a member of the Berlin Thunder in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL) Colorado Crush and the Philadelphia Soul, Utah Blaze in the Arena Football League. 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 Northwestern University.

Early years

Missouri attended Theodore Roosevelt High School. As a senior, he helped his team win the state championship in football, receiving All-state, All-district, All-city and Defensive Player of the year honors. He also practiced

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

, where he was a two-time Academic All-district selection as a

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

ter.

College career

Missouri accepted a football scholarship from Northwestern University. As a true freshman, he suffered a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot, that forced him to redshirt. As a redshirt freshman, he appeared in 7 games, making 4 tackles and one fumble recovery. As a sophomore, he was named a starter at left defensive end, posting 34 tackles, 7 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. As a junior, he recorded 52 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and 5 sacks. As a senior, he registered 51 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 9 sacks and 5 forced fumbles (led the conference).

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Missouri was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the seventh round (231st overall) of the

2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...

. He was declared inactive for the season opener against 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 ...

. On September 12, he was waived to make room for linebacker Shannon Taylor, and was signed to 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, ...

the next day.

Dallas Cowboys

On October 29,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, he was signed by the Dallas Cowboys from the Ravens

. He was deactivated for the seventh and eighth game. He was a backup at left defensive end against the Philadelphia Eagles. He was deactivated for games tenth to thirteenth. He saw action against 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 ...

, before being deactivated for the last 2 games. In

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, he was allocated to the Berlin Thunder of the

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

League (NFLEL). He collected 27 tackles, 5.5 sacks (second in the league), 4 passes defensed and 3 forced fumbles, helping the team win

World Bowl X World Bowl X was the 2002 championship game of the NFL Europe League. The game was played at Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, Germany on Saturday, June 22, 2002. It would be the final event held at Rheinstadion before its demolition. In this game, th ...

. He was released from the Cowboys on August 19.

San Francisco 49ers

On March 31,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, he was signed as a free agent by the San Francisco 49ers. On May 19, it was reported in the media that he didn't show up for a minicamp. The next day, it was reported that Missouri was quitting football.

Colorado Crush (AFL)

, he was signed by the Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League. He played in 7 games, making 8.5 total tackles, one sack, and 3 passes defensed. On September 17, he was traded to the Philadelphia Soul in exchange for a first round draft choice in the 2004 Expansion Draft.

Philadelphia Soul (AFL)

In his 4 seasons with the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League, he registered 72.5 total tackles (10.5 for loss), 18.5 sacks, 15 passes defensed, 15 forced fumbles, 2 blocked kicks, 6 receptions for 38 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was released on November 12,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Utah Blaze (AFL)

On November 20,

, he was signed by the Utah Blaze of the Arena Football League.

Personal life

Missouri was featured in the first season of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

's ''

Hard Knocks Hard Knocks may refer to: Films * ''Hard Knocks'' (1924), a comedy short by James Parrott * ''Hard Knocks'' (1979 film), a 1979 American film * ''Hard Knocks'' (1980 film), a 1980 Australian film starring Tracy Mann * '' Hard Knocks: The Chris B ...

'' series as a member of the Baltimore Ravens. He is currently an assistant high school football coach at McCollum High School in San Antonio, Texas and working on his alternative certification to become a special education teacher.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Missouri, Dwayne 1978 births Living people Players of American football from San Antonio German players of American football American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Northwestern Wildcats football players Baltimore Ravens players Dallas Cowboys players Berlin Thunder players San Francisco 49ers players Colorado Crush players Philadelphia Soul players Utah Blaze players High school football coaches in Texas Sportspeople from Frankfurt