Tony Darden (born August 11, 1975) 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 ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who played

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 ...

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

Early life and high school

Darden was born in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

and grew up in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, where he attended

Oliver Wendell Holmes High School Oliver Wendell Holmes High School is a public high school that is part of the Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas (United States). It was established in 1964 and is known for its circular architecture, in which several bu ...

. As a senior he passed for 3,236 yards and 45 touchdowns.

College career

Darden was a member of the Texas Tech Red Raiders for five seasons, redshirting as a true freshman. He began his redshirt freshman season as a quarterback, starting the first three games of the season and splitting duties with Zebbie Lethridge before moving to wide receiver after five games. Darden changed positions again to cornerback before his junior season. As a senior, he recorded 32 tackles with four passes broken up and two interceptions and was named second team 1997 All-

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

Professional career

Darden was selected in the seventh round 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 ...

by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. He spent his rookie season on injured reserve and was cut at the end of training camp in 1999. Darden was signed by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

on January 18, 2000. Darden was waived during the 2001 offseason and claimed by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, who cut him during training camp.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darden, Tony 1975 births American football defensive backs Texas Tech Red Raiders football players Players of American football from San Antonio San Diego Chargers players Minnesota Vikings players Green Bay Packers players American football quarterbacks American football wide receivers Living people