William "Rusty" Russell (born August 16, 1963) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a tackle for one season with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the Eagles in the third round of the

1984 NFL draft The 1984 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 NFL draft, draft was held May 1–2, 1984 NFL season, ...

after playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

. Russell also played in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL).

Early life and college

William Russell was born on August 16, 1963, in

Orangeburg, South Carolina Orangeburg, also known as ''The Burg'', is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population of the city was 13,964 according to the 2020 United Stat ...

. He attended Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School in Orangeburg. Russell was a member of the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

of the

from 1980 to 1983.

Professional career

Russell was selected by the

in the third round, with the 60th overall pick, of the

. He officially signed with the Eagles on June 19. He was placed on injured reserve on August 28 and later activated on October 18, 1984. Russell played in one game for the Eagles during the 1984 season. He was released on August 20, 1985. Russell signed a futures contract with the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural ...

on November 1, 1985. He was placed on injured reserve on August 26, 1986, and missed the entire 1986 season. He was released by the Rams on September 1, 1987. Russell played in 50 games for the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

of the

(AFL) from 1991 to 1995. He was an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

/defensive lineman during his time in the AFL as the league played under

ironman rules The one-platoon system, also known as "iron man football", is a platoon system, rule-driven substitution pattern in American football whereby the same players were expected to stay on the field for the entire game, playing both offense and defense ...

. He was named second-team

All-Arena An All-Arena Team, an all-star team consisting of the best players of their position was selected every season in the Arena Football League (AFL). Teams * 1987 All-Arena Team, 1987 * 1988 All-Arena Team, 1988 * 1989 All-Arena Team, 1989 * 1990 Al ...

in 1994. Russell played in all 14 games for the

Charlotte Rage The Charlotte Rage were a professional arena football team based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. They were members of the Arena Football League from 1992 to 1996. They played their home games at the Charlotte Coliseum from 1992 to 1994 and t ...

of the AFL in 1996. On May 2, 1997, before the start of the 1997 AFL season, it was reported that Russell had signed with the

Florida Bobcats The Florida Bobcats were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Sunrise, Florida. They were previously known as the Sacramento Attack and the Miami Hooters, and played in the AFL for a total of ten seasons, the last seven in West Palm Beac ...

. He appeared in 12 games for the Bobcats in 1997. He finished his AFL career with totals of 52 solo tackles, 13 assisted tackles, 7.5 sacks, one interception, 18 pass breakups, three fumble recoveries, and five blocked kicks in 77 games played.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Rusty Living people 1963 births Players of American football from South Carolina American football offensive tackles American football defensive linemen South Carolina Gamecocks football players Philadelphia Eagles players Los Angeles Raiders players Orlando Predators players Charlotte Rage players Florida Bobcats players Sportspeople from Orangeburg, South Carolina Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School alumni 20th-century African-American sportsmen