KHALIL McCLAIN

*EDITOR’S NOTE- This story orginally ran in 2012 as a part of the Class of 2012 Troy Sports Hall of Fame Ceremony.*

One of the best defensive players to ever play at Troy University, DeMarcus Ware has turned his success on the college gridiron into a wildly successful professional career.

Ware was instrumental in Troy’s transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2001 and finished his Trojan career as the program’s all-time leader in tackles for loss with 55.5. He finished his career with 27 sacks for a loss of 198 yards to rank among the all-time greats in Troy history.

Ware became a starter in 2002, and quickly made an impact in the trenches by finishing fifth on the team with 72 tackles. Along with the former Troy and current Atlanta Falcon defensive end Osi Umenyiora, the duo combined to record 25 sacks and 40 tackles for a loss.

In his sophomore campaign, Ware finished tied for 15th in the country with nine sacks, while his 19.5 tackles for a loss were tied for ninth in the nation. In 2002, Troy State’s defense finished fourth in the country in total defense as the Trojans’ allowed 276.8 yards per game.

In 2003, Ware secured a selection to the NCAA Division I-A All-Independent Team by making 62 tackles, 16 tackles for a loss, and six sacks. As a junior, Ware led the Trojans with 32 quarterback hurries, five forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.

A member of the Sun Belt Conference All-Decade Team, Ware was a finalist for the 2004 Hendricks Award which is presented annually to the nation’s top defensive end.

“He was one of those guys that did everything right, he went to class, he worked hard in the weight room, and did everything right,” Troy football head coach Larry Blakeney said of Ware. “He was able to develop from a guy who was basically a skill guy coming out of high school and turned himself into a very fast and ferocious player on the field.”

Ware was named the 2004 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year and helped lead the Trojans to their first-ever bowl game with an appearance in the Silicon Valley Football Classic. That season, Ware made 53 tackles, 19 for a loss, and his 10.5 sacks led the Sun Belt Conference.

He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys with the 11th overall pick of the 2005 NFL Draft and was the first-ever first round pick from Troy or the Sun Belt.

One of the best 3-4 outside linebackers in the NFL according to the Sporting News, Ware was the 2008 NFC Defensive Player of the Year and has earned first team All-Pro honors four times in his career. He also has been named to the Pro Bowl seven times.

A seven-year NFL veteran, Ware has totaled 534 tackles and has recorded 111.0 sacks. Ware has ranked in the top five in sacks for four of last six seasons. He led the NFL in sacks in 2008 and 2010.

Blakeney believes that Ware’s development as a player is an example of hard work paying off. Blakeney said. “DeMarcus was the perfect example of a studentathlete coming to Troy, and doing everything with a purpose.”

A native of Auburn, Ala., Ware only played two seasons of football at Auburn High School before attending Troy. Ware graduated with a degree in business information systems; becoming the first member of his family to graduate with a college degree.

Ware resides in Dallas and has two children, Marley and DeMarcus, Jr.

Since this story was originally published, Ware went on to play for the Denver Broncos, where he received Pro Bowl honors in his first season.

At the end of his career, Ware was a Super Bowl 50 Champion with the Denver Broncos, played in nine Pro Bowls, was named All-Pro seven times and tied the NFL record by leading the league in sacks twice.

On April 19, 2016, the governor of Alabama declared April 19 “DeMarcus Ware Day.”

Ware was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in May 2021 and will appear on the NFL Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in 2022.