John Sifford Denney (born December 13, 1978) is an

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 ...

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point att ...

who is a free agent. He played college football for

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

(BYU), and was signed by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

as an

undrafted 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 ...

in 2005.

Early years

Denney was born to Craig and Sheri Denney in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He learned to play the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

at age 5 and was an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...

. A member of the

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

, Denney served a church mission to Morristown, New Jersey. As a child, he was a fan of the

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 ...

. Denney attended Westlake middle school. Denney was a three-year letterman at Horizon High School in

Thornton, Colorado The City of Thornton is a home rule municipality located in Adams and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 141,867, all in Adams County, at the 2020 United States Census, an increase of +19.44% since the 2010 United ...

. As a senior, he earned first-team all-conference honors, second-team all-state honors and was his team's Special Teams Player of the Year. A three-time academic all-conference selection, Denney graduated from Horizon in 1997 with National Student-Athlete honors.

College career

Ricks College

Despite being recruited by

Northern Colorado Northern Colorado is the name for a region in the state of Colorado and a proposed state in the northeastern portion of Colorado. Region Northern Colorado is a region in the northern portion of Colorado. It borders northwestern Colorado, nort ...

, Chadron State and

Mesa State Colorado Mesa University is a public university in Grand Junction, Colorado. The university's other locations include Bishop Campus, which houses Western Colorado Community College in northwestern Grand Junction, and a regional campus in Mon ...

, Denney chose to attend

Ricks College Ricks may refer to: People * Andre Ricks (born 1996), American basketball player * Bob Ricks (21st century), American police chief * Christopher Ricks (born 1933), British literary critic and scholar * Doug Ricks, American politician and member ...

. He earned All-Region 18 honors as a freshman and helped the school to a 44-14 win over

Snow College Snow College is a public community college in Ephraim, Utah. It offers certificates and associate degrees in a number of areas, along with bachelor's degrees in music and software engineering and a four-year nursing program. Snow College is par ...

in the Real Dairy Bowl. In that game, Denney recorded two sacks and two pass deflections.

Brigham Young University

After a season at Ricks College, Denney transferred to

and was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2001. A neck injury sidelined Denney early during his sophomore season in 2002, but he went on to start seven games at left defensive end for the team. He recorded 25 tackles (eight solo) on the season, including five-tackle performances against Colorado State and

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. Additionally, Denney earned Academic All- Mountain West honors. As a junior in 2003, Denney earned Academic All-Mountain West honors for the second straight season while starting 12 games at defensive end. He finished the season with 42 tackles (seventh on the team), six tackles for a loss and 4.5 sacks. He was named the team's Defensive Player of the Game twice, against USC and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

. Denney recorded 27 tackles (8.5 for losses) during his senior season in addition to 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Following the season, he was chosen to play in the

Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first st ...

. During his three-year career at BYU, Denney started 29 of the 32 games in which he played and recorded 94 tackles. He also handled long snapping duties for the Cougars throughout his career. He majored in business management.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

After going

undrafted 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 ...

in the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 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 23–24, 2005. The league also he ...

, Denney was signed by the

. He beat out incumbent Ed Perry for the team's long snapping duties, holding the job the entire 2005 season and keeping it throughout the rest of his tenure. He was the only undrafted free agent for the Dolphins to appear in every game that season. He recorded five tackles on special teams during the year, including a season-high two stops against the San Diego Chargers on December 11. In February 2006, Denney underwent surgery on an injured elbow. He played in every game for the Dolphins for the second straight season, recording five tackles. Denney recorded two tackles and recovered a Brad Kassell fumble on a punt against the New York Jets on December 25, leading to a game-tying

Olindo Mare Olindo Franco Mare (born June 6, 1973) is a former American football placekicker. He was originally signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 1996. He played college football at MacMurray College and Syracuse. Mare, who was se ...

field goal in the fourth quarter. On March 22, 2007, the Dolphins re-signed Denney to a four-year contract through the 2010 season. That season, he appeared in all 16 games for the Dolphins for the third straight year and recorded three special teams tackles. Through his first three NFL seasons, Dolphins placekickers made all 81

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

attempts and 80.9 percent of the field goals (72 of 89) for which Denney was the snapper. On August 15, 2013, Denney signed a three-year extension at an $1,150,029 average per year. On March 9, 2017, Denney re-signed with the Dolphins. On March 15, 2018, Denney re-signed with the Dolphins for one year. As of the 2018 season, he is the longest tenured player on the Dolphins roster, having been with the team since 2005. He is second in Dolphins history in games played, behind only

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

r Dan Marino. On February 8, 2019, Denney signed a one-year contract extension with the Dolphins. He was released on September 2, 2019, as the longest-tenured Dolphin.

New Orleans Saints

On January 11, 2021, Denney was signed to the

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 ...

' practice squad. On January 13, 2021, Denney was released, but re-signed with the practice squad on January 16. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 25, 2021.

Personal life

Denney is the younger brother of former Buffalo Bills

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 ...

Ryan Denney. Their younger brother, Brett, was also a defensive end for the Cougars. Denney and his wife Christy have three sons and two daughters - Austin, Brock, Weston, Gracie, and Bailey. He lists his favorite movie as ''

The Endless Summer II ''The Endless Summer II'' is a 1994 film directed by Bruce Brown and is a sequel to his 1966 film ''The Endless Summer''. In ''The Endless Summer II'', surfers Pat O'Connell and Robert "Wingnut" Weaver retrace the steps of Mike Hynson and Ro ...

'', favorite TV show as '' Seinfeld'' and favorite recording artist as Dave Matthews. In 2016, Denney earned a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

degree from the University of Miami Business School.

References

External links

BYU Cougars bioMiami Dolphins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denney, John 1978 births Living people American football defensive ends American football long snappers American Mormon missionaries in the United States BYU Cougars football players Latter Day Saints from Colorado Miami Dolphins players New Orleans Saints players People from Thornton, Colorado Players of American football from Denver University of Miami Business School alumni American Conference Pro Bowl players