Robert Porcher (; born July 30, 1969) is an American former professional

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 ...

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 formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

of 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). He played

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 ...

for the

South Carolina State Bulldogs The South Carolina State Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs (also SC State) sponsors fourteen sports teams representing South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina in intercollegiate athletics, including men’s and women's basketball, ...

under coach

Willie Jeffries Willie E. Jeffries (born January 4, 1937) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at South Carolina State University for 19 seasons in two stints, five seasons at Wichita State University, and five sea ...

. He was selected in the first round of the

1992 NFL Draft The 1992 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 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott Mar ...

. He retired before the 2004 season with 95.5 career sacks. Porcher has been involved in the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

community since his retirement. He opened 3 businesses in Downtown Detroit: Detroit Breakfast House & Grill, Sweet Georgia Brown, and Seldom Blues. The Businesses filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009. Porcher is perhaps best recognized as a standout with the Detroit Lions. A 6-foot-3, 275-pound defensive-end, Porcher was a dominant pass-rush specialist and defensive leader. During much of his 13-year playing career, he was one of the league's most productive and feared defensive ends. Originally a first-round draft choice in 1992 from

South Carolina State University South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only public, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina, is a mem ...

, Porcher played in 187 games (third all-time in Detroit history), and set a team record with 95.5 quarterback sacks during his career. He led Detroit in sacks eight times (also a Detroit record). He also became the first Lion to record double-digit sack totals in four consecutive seasons (1996–99). Porcher earned trips to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

in 1998, 2000 and 2001. He also finished his career with 24 career games notching more than one sack. From 1996 to 2001, Porcher garnered 68 sacks during that six-year period - which was the second-highest in the NFL during that span. His 673 career tackles are ranked seventh in Detroit Lions’ history. Off the field, Porcher became actively involved in the community. His foundation for cancer research and relief fund raised thousands of dollars for programs at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Lions annual Man of the Year award is named the "Robert Porcher Man of the Year" in honor of his tremendous contributions to the community, especially in Detroit. Porcher is now an entrepreneur, with various business interests - most notably in the transportation industry.

NFL stats

External links

Review of Porcher's restaurants

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Porcher, Robert 1969 births Living people People from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina Sportspeople from Charleston County, South Carolina American football defensive ends South Carolina State University alumni South Carolina State Bulldogs football players Detroit Lions players National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Detroit Players of American football from South Carolina