Ryan Clint Nece (born February 24, 1979) 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 wi ...

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, ...

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 ...

. He was signed by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

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 2002. He played college football at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. Nece is the son of

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 ...

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 ...

Ronnie Lott Ronald Mandel Lott (born May 8, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback and safety in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. Lott played college football for the Univ ...

. Nece is a community activist involved in many charities throughout the Tampa Bay area. He is on the board of the Tampa Bay Sports Authority and Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. In 2006, he created his own foundation "The Ryan Nece Foundation", funding programs for youth and families. He is the co-founder and managing partner at Next Play Capital.

College career

Nece graduated from the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

(UCLA) and was a four-year starter for the Bruins and finished his career with 281 career

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

(173 solo), with 22 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. He started out in his

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year as a safety but converted to linebacker afterwards. He was an honorable mention All- Pac-10 selection and

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

semifinalist as a senior at UCLA.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Nece tore his ACL in his rookie year, ending his season after being a stalwart

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 ...

tackler throughout the season. In 2003, Nece moved into the starting spot across star linebacker Derrick Brooks and finished the season with 70 tackles and one

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

. Nece was released by the Buccaneers during final cuts on August 30, 2008.

Detroit Lions

On August 31, 2008, Nece was signed by the Detroit Lions. The move reunited him with Lions head coach

Rod Marinelli Rodney Marinelli (born July 13, 1949) is an American football coach. He has been a defensive coach for several college and professional teams, serving primarily as a defensive line coach when he has not been a coordinator. From 2006 until 2008, ...

, who was an assistant coach for the Buccaneers during Nece's first four seasons in Tampa Bay. Nece was released by the Lions in the 2009 off-season. With Marc Isenberg, Nece is the co-author of ''Go Pro Like a Pro'', a small booklet from 2011 created for athletes, their parents, and others who influence, advise, and work on athletes’ behalf.

Broadcasting career

The United Football league announced on September 14, 2010 that Nece would be doing sideline reporting during live games on the Versus network. He joined the Pac-12 Network as a sideline reporter and football analyst in 2012.

Personal life

Nece was raised by his parents, Ronnie Lott and Cathy Nece. His parents chose to give him his mother’s maiden name with the hopes he would create his own identity and would avoid expectations as the son of Ronnie Lott. Nece and Lott became the second father-and-son duo to both win a Super Bowl, joining

Bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places * Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

and Brian Griese. Ryan is married to

Willa Ford Amanda Lee Williford (born January 22, 1981), known by her stage name Willa Ford, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, model, television personality and film actress. She released her debut album, ''Willa Was Here'', in 2001. Ford also ha ...

. They held a wedding ceremony in April 2015. In March 2016, it was announced that the couple was expecting their first child. In 2016, they welcomed a son.

References

External links

Detroit Lions bioTampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nece, Ryan College football announcers United Football League broadcasters 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from San Bernardino, California American football linebackers UCLA Bruins football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Detroit Lions players Players of American football from California