David Stewart Ball (born January 4, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

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 eight seasons. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, and earned unanimous All-American honors. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fifth 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 has also played for the New York Jets and

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

of the NFL.

Early years

Ball was born in

Fairfield, California Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Solano County, California, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is generally considered the midpoint between the cities of San Francisco ...

. He attended Dixon High School in Dixon, California, where he was a three-year letterman for the Dixon High School football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

teams.

College career

Ball attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where he played defensive end for the Bruins from 2000 to 2003. He was a starter during his final three seasons. In 2003, Ball tied for the national lead with 16.5 quarterback sacks, setting a UCLA record. He also set the UCLA record for most career sacks with 30.5. Ball earned unanimous All-American honors in 2003, and was selected as the ABC- Chevrolet National Defensive Player of the Year, and won the Pop Warner Award as the top senior player on the West Coast. Ball was also a two-time first-team All-Pac-10 selection.

Professional career

Ball was drafted in the fifth round by the San Diego Chargers (pick no. 133) in the

. He was released by the Chargers during the 2005 season and was picked up by the New York Jets. Ball was signed as a free agent by the Carolina Panthers on March 26, 2007. On September 1, 2007 Ball was cut from the Panthers before the start of the

NFL regular season The National Football League (NFL) regular season begins on the weekend following the first Monday of September (i.e, the weekend following the Labor Day holiday) and ends in early January, after which that season's playoffs tournament begins. I ...

. Ball did not play in the 2007 season, despite being signed by the Titans in January prior to their playoff game against the San Diego Chargers. Ball played for Tennessee from 2008 to 2011. In his NFL career, he has had 123 tackles and 15.5 sacks.also an interception and return for touchdown against the lions in 2008"Dave Ball"
nfl.com. Retrieved February 10, 2013.

References

External links

New York Jets bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Dave 1981 births Living people All-American college football players American football defensive ends New York Jets players People from Fairfield, California San Diego Chargers players Sportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area Tennessee Titans players UCLA Bruins football players Players of American football from California People from Dixon, California