Izell Reese (born May 7, 1974) is a former professional

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 wi ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

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 divi ...

, Buffalo Bills, 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 headquar ...

. He played college football at the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established in 1936, the institution became a four-year campus in 1966 and a fully autonomous univ ...

Early years

Reese attended Northview High School, where he led the football team with 5 interceptions as a senior. He also lettered in

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 ...

. Although he came to the

as an unrecruited walk-on athlete, he was named the starter at strong safety as a freshman, making 10 tackles and leading the team with 4 interceptions. The next season, he registered 70 tackles, 1 interception and posted 18 tackles—the third best single-game total in school history—against

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

. As a junior, he recorded 69 tackles (second on the team), 5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. In his last year, he collected 83 tackles (4 for loss) and closed out his eligibility with a school-record 85-yard interception return for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

against

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osa ...

. During his time in college, the

went from

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

to I-AA and on to

Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...

. He finished second in career tackles (276), first in solo tackles (188), fourth in career interceptions (8), first in career interception return yardage (135 yards) and first with 44 games (38 starts out of 44).

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys (first stint)

Reese was selected by the

in the sixth round (188th overall) of the

1998 NFL Draft The 1998 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 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

, becoming the second UAB player ever to be selected in the

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

(after Dainon Sidney). The coaches were intrigued by his size/speed ratio but decided to keep him at

. Although he wasn't expected to make an impact, he contributed in the "45" and

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...

packages, while also emerging as the team's leader in

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 ...

tackles with 21. He was a key player in the Cowboys leading the NFL in kickoff coverage (18.5 yards) and finishing third in punt coverage (6.2 yards). Despite missing the final 8 games of the 1999 season with a herniated disc in his neck, he tied for second on the team with 3 interceptions, registered 28 tackles, 5 passes defensed, 6

tackles and 2 quarterback pressures. After overcoming a career-threatening neck injury in the 2000 season, he became a seven-game starter at free safety in place of an injured

George Teague George Theo Teague (born February 18, 1971) is a former American football safety in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins. He played college football at the University of Ala ...

, finishing first on the team in

tackles (22), second in interceptions (2) and eighth in tackles (72). In 2001, the team tried to convert him into a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

, but after starting the first four games, he was replaced with Duane Hawthorne at left cornerback and was moved back to

. He registered 37 tackles (24 solo), 3 sacks (fourth on the team), 3 passes defensed, one interception and 8

tackles.

Denver Broncos

On March 15, 2002, 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 ...

with the

. He earned the starting free safety position, finishing with 58 tackles 5 quarterback pressures, one pass defensed and 3

tackles.

Buffalo Bills

On March 21, 2003, he signed as a

with the Buffalo Bills. He started 9 out of 13 games at free safety, before 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 December 17. He collected 33 tackles, one quarterback pressure and 6

tackles. In 2004, he was named the starter at free safety, until he was passed on the depth chart by rookie Rashad Baker in the 10th game and was declared inactive during the rest of the season. He posted 48 tackles, one interception and one quarterback pressure.

Dallas Cowboys (second stint)

On June 3, 2005, he was signed by the

to provide depth after the retirement of

Darren Woodson Darren Ray Woodson (born April 25, 1969) is a former American football safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played his entire career for the Dallas Cowboys from 1992 to 2003. He was drafted by the Cowboys in the second round (37th o ...

. He was released on August 24.

NFL statistics

Personal life

Reese retired in 2005 and is now the EVP of Next College Student Athlete and GM of the Rivals Combine Series, camps and combines for high school football players. He is the co-founder of Rising Seniors, a program that gives top athletes in the Junior year of high school the opportunity to have a "rookie camp" experience and coaching on making the most of college opportunities and the recruiting process. The annual program ends with a "Junior Bowl" that gives college recruiters a glimpse of new talent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reese, Izell 1974 births Living people Players of American football from Dothan, Alabama American football safeties UAB Blazers football players Dallas Cowboys players Denver Broncos players Buffalo Bills players