Simeon Rice

Simeon James Rice (born February 24, 1974) is a former American football defensive end, last playing in 2009. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals third overall in the 1996 NFL Draft. He played college football at Illinois.

In his 12-year NFL career, Rice recorded 122 sacks, forced 25 fumbles, and recovered 8. He earned three Pro Bowl selections and earned a Super Bowl ring with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. He has also played for the Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts and New York Sentinels.

Early years
He attended Mount Carmel High School on Chicago's south side, the same school as former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb and former NBA star Antoine Walker.

College career
It's rare that a defensive player can be like a Red Grange or a Gale Sayers, can take on that kind of dimension. But he's the Red Grange of defense. Simeon Rice played outside linebacker at the University of Illinois, where he set the Big Ten Conference record for career sacks with 44.5; the record was previously held by Mark Messner of Michigan with 36. As a junior, he set a school single season sack record with 16 sacks. He was also a two-time All-America pick.

Due to his enormous size (6-5, 253 lb.) for a linebacker, his great speed (4.5 40-yard dash), and his outstanding pass-rushing ability Rice drew comparisons to Lawrence Taylor.

Pre-Draft
He attended the NFL Combine and was measured at 6'4" and weighing 259 Pounds. After claiming he could run a 4.5 40 yard dash, he was timed as running it in 4.66 seconds.

Arizona Cardinals
Rice was drafted by the Cardinals with the 3rd overall pick of the 1996 NFL Draft. He recorded 12.5 sacks as a rookie, and in 1998 he helped the team reach the playoffs.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rice signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent before the 2001 season and was on the winning Super Bowl team in 2002, but was edged out of the MVP voting by his teammate Dexter Jackson. He was placed on Injured Reserve midway through the 2006 season with a shoulder ailment. Eventually, the Buccaneers released him.

Denver Broncos
On September 3, 2007, Rice was signed by the Denver Broncos to a one-year contract. He was later released.

Indianapolis Colts
On November 9, 2007, Rice was placed on waivers and claimed by the Indianapolis Colts three days later, one day after Colt defensive end Dwight Freeney suffered a season-ending Lisfranc fracture of his foot. Rice appeared in just two games with Indianapolis before being released on November 27. He recorded one tackle and one sack with the Colts.

Rice left the NFL as the active leader in sacks with 122 which ranks 12th all-time. Rice was also the second fastest player to achieve 100 career sacks behind Eagles/Packers legend Reggie White.

New York Sentinels
After sitting out the 2008 season, Rice signed with the New York Sentinels of the United Football League on August 27, 2009.

Music/Film career
After football, Rice began a career in the entertainment industry. He started his own Hip-Hop/R&B record label, named "Lucid Dream Entertainment." Yashi, his younger sister, was his first signee. Yashi Rice has released her first single, titled "Serious." He also appeared in Slum Village video "Climax" along with Saafir and Gary Coleman. A 2009 graduate of the New York Film Academy, Rice premiered his first movie as director, "When I Was King," two days before the 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas.