Mario Marcell Haggan (born March 3, 1980) 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 ...
who played 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
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
, 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 headquart ...
, and
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arri ...
. He was drafted by the Bills in the seventh round of the
2003 NFL Draft
The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...
after playing
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
Mississippi State
Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...
.
Early years
Haggan grew up in
Clarksdale, Mississippi
Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19th century when he establishe ...
, where he attended
Clarksdale High School
Clarksdale High School (CHS) is the public high school of Clarksdale, Mississippi and a part of the Clarksdale Municipal School District.
History
Around the time of racial integration, circa the 1960s, there had been plans to build a new consolida ...
, played
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and was named an All-American. He was named first-team all-state by the
Jackson Clarion-Ledger
''The Clarion Ledger'' is an American daily newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi. It is the second-oldest company in the state of Mississippi, and is one of the few newspapers in the nation that continues to circulate statewide. It is an operating d ...
and played in the
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
/
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
All-Star Game. Haggan led his team to the state Class 4A championship in 1997. As a senior, he recorded 158 tackles with three fumble recoveries and earned Honorable Mention All-American honors from ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
''.
College career
Haggan played at
Mississippi State
Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...
from 1998-2002 playing both
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 ...
and
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 formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
. Haggan was a member of the Bulldogs’ 1998 SEC Western Division championship squad as well as the 10-win 1999 team that led the nation in defense. During his time at MSU the Bulldogs played in the
SEC Championship Game
The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. The championship game pits the SEC East Division regular season champion against the West Division regula ...
, the
Cotton Bowl, the
Peach Bowl
The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. Since 1997, it has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A and is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was officially re ...
, and the
Independence Bowl
The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl ...
. Haggan was a first-team All-SEC selection by the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
and second-team All-America honoree by
The Sporting News
The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
in 2000 and a second-team All-SEC selection in both 2001 and 2002. He was the Bulldogs’ leading tackler in each of his last three seasons, including 119 tackles his senior season and ranks eighth in MSU history with 359 total tackles.
Professional career
Buffalo Bills
Haggan was drafted in the seventh round of the 2003 draft by the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
, playing in 65 games for the Bills while collecting 78 tackles from 2003-2007.
Denver Broncos
In 2008, Haggan was signed by 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 headquart ...
. Haggan was named a starting
OLB and a defensive captain for 2009 and started all 16 games that year. In 2010, he was moved to
ILB and delivered the best season of his career, with 87 tackles in 16 more starts. Haggan was one of only two Bronco players to start every game in 2009 and 2010. Haggan was valued by the Broncos as a depth player for his versatility, having played all three linebacker positions and both defensive end positions.
St. Louis Rams
Haggan signed with the
Rams
In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)Rowlett, Texas
Rowlett (, traditionally ) is a city in Dallas and Rockwall counties in the U.S. state of Texas, and an eastern suburb of Dallas. The total population estimate is 73,270 in 2021. It is a growing, upscale community with nearly $1.5 billion in dev ...
.
Tanika Haggan
/ref>
References
External links
Denver Broncos bio
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haggan, Mario
1980 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Clarksdale, Mississippi
American football linebackers
Mississippi State Bulldogs football players
Buffalo Bills players
Denver Broncos players
St. Louis Rams players