Alan Ball (American football)
| No. -- Free agent | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth: | March 29, 1985 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth: | Detroit, Michigan | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Detroit (MI) St. Martin de Porres | ||||||||||||
| College: | Illinois | ||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2007 / Round: 7 / Pick: 237 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2016 | |||||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||
| Tackles: | 234 |
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| Sacks: | 0.5 |
| Interceptions: | 6 |
| Forced fumbles: | 2 |
| Pass deflections: | 37 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Alan Sheffield Ball (born March 29, 1985) is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft and has also played for the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Chicago Bears. He played college football at the University of Illinois.
Ball attended Saint Martin de Porres High School where he helped his team win the 2001 state championship in football. Also an standout track & field athlete, Ball received All-State honors after winning back-to-back 110-meter hurdles state titles as a junior and senior.
He was a four-year starter at cornerback for the University of Illinois. He had five starts as a freshman and 44 tackles. He doubled his starts (10) as a sophomore, finishing with 37 tackles and one pass defensed. As a junior, he registered 7 starts and led the team with 55 tackles.
His best season came in his final year, when he received honorable mention All-Big Ten honors, after recording 62 tackles (3 for loss), 13 passes defensed, and one interception. He finished his college career with 199 tackles (8 for loss), 23 passes defensed, 2 interceptions and one forced fumble.
Ball was selected in the seventh round (237th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He was waived on September 2 and spent the first 14 games of the season on the practice squad, before being activated to the roster on December 11. Ball made his NFL debut on December 22, against the Carolina Panthers. In 2009, he was third on the team with 16 special teams tackles. Made an appearance in all 16 games (during the 2009 season) for first time in his career, along with first 3 starts of his career, collecting 18 tackles and 3 pass break-ups. In 2010, with the changes that the NFL was experiencing in the passing game, head coach Wade Phillips thought he could develop into an effective free safety and switched him from his previous cornerback position. He replaced Ken Hamlin and started 16 games, registering 45 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and half a sack. Ball started all 16 contests for first time in his career. The next year, he lost his starter job to Abram Elam and returned to a backup cornerback role, registering 32 tackles, 1 interception and 6 passes defensed. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the season.
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