Darnell Bing
Encyclopedia
Darnell Bing is an American football
linebacker who is currently a free agent
of the National Football League
. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders
in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at Southern California.
Bing has also been a member of the San Francisco 49ers
, New York Jets
and Detroit Lions
.
. He was a part of a Poly team that had an unprecedented five players ranked in the top 100 in the nation according to Rivals.com: tight end
Marcedes Lewis
, offensive tackle Winston Justice
, defensive tackle Manuel Wright
, running back
Hershel Dennis
and himself. Bing was a member of the USC football team in college along with all of these high school teammates, except for Lewis who played for USC's crosstown archrival, UCLA
.
, and received permission from USC athletic director Mike Garrett
(USC's 1965 Heisman Trophy
-winning tailback
) to wear Garrett's retired No. 20 jersey.. He was ruled academically ineligible his first year, but Bing started on all three other years of his collegiate career and was on two national championship teams. He was named a Jim Thorpe Award
finalist as the nation's best collegiate football defensive back and an All-America
n in 2005. He was an early entry candidate in the 2006 NFL Draft, winding up in the fourth round.
In his final season at Southern California, Bing had an interception in the final minutes of the game against Fresno State
that sealed the win for the Trojans.
with the 101st pick of the 2006 NFL Draft
. Although he was a safety in college, the Oakland Raiders planned to convert him to an outside linebacker, but before the 2007 season they moved him back to safety. Prior to the 2006 season, the Raiders placed Bing on the injured reserve list with a neck injury. On July 25, 2007 the Raiders released him.
signed Bing to a future contract. He was waived by the team on July 29.
on August 4, 2008 after the team placed linebacker Teddy Lehman
on injured reserve
. As the Raiders had unsuccessfully tried, the Lions also converted him to linebacker. He began the season on the team's practice squad before being promoted to the active roster on December 8, 2008 when linebacker Alex Lewis
was placed on injured reserve. He was released on October 6, 2009.
On February 18, 2011, Bing was released from the Texans roster.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
linebacker who is currently a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft
2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Southern California.
Bing has also been a member of the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
.
Early years
Bing attended Long Beach Polytechnic High SchoolLong Beach Polytechnic High School
Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a High school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States....
. He was a part of a Poly team that had an unprecedented five players ranked in the top 100 in the nation according to Rivals.com: tight end
Tight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
Marcedes Lewis
Marcedes Lewis
Marcedes Alexis Lewis is an American football tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted from UCLA as the 28th pick in the 2006 NFL Draft...
, offensive tackle Winston Justice
Winston Justice
Winston Frederick Justice is an American football offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
, defensive tackle Manuel Wright
Manuel Wright
Manuel "Manny" Wright is an Arena football Offensive lineman / Defensive lineman for the Stockton Lightning of af2. He was originally drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2005 supplemental draft. He played college football at USC.Wright has also briefly been signed to the...
, running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Hershel Dennis
Hershel Dennis
Hershel Dennis Jr. is a running back for the Sioux Falls Storm in the Indoor Football League . Dennis played college football running back as a student athlete at the University of Southern California...
and himself. Bing was a member of the USC football team in college along with all of these high school teammates, except for Lewis who played for USC's crosstown archrival, UCLA
UCLA Bruins Football
The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in college football as members of the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll...
.
College career
Bing played safety for the USC TrojansUSC Trojans
The USC Trojans are the athletic teams representing the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the Trojans, the women's athletic teams are referred to as either the Trojans or Women of Troy...
, and received permission from USC athletic director Mike Garrett
Mike Garrett
Michael Lockett Garrett is a former American collegiate and professional football player who won the 1965 Heisman Trophy as a tailback for the University of Southern California Trojans. Garrett also played professional football for eight seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers...
(USC's 1965 Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
-winning tailback
Tailback
Tailback can mean:* Halfback * A line of motor vehicles caught up in traffic congestion; a traffic jam...
) to wear Garrett's retired No. 20 jersey.. He was ruled academically ineligible his first year, but Bing started on all three other years of his collegiate career and was on two national championship teams. He was named a Jim Thorpe Award
Jim Thorpe Award
The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport legend Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986...
finalist as the nation's best collegiate football defensive back and an All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n in 2005. He was an early entry candidate in the 2006 NFL Draft, winding up in the fourth round.
In his final season at Southern California, Bing had an interception in the final minutes of the game against Fresno State
California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno, often referred to as Fresno State University and synonymously known in athletics as Fresno State , is one of the leading campuses of the California State University system, located at the northeast edge of Fresno, California, USA.The campus sits at the foot of...
that sealed the win for the Trojans.
Awards and honors
- Honorable mention All-Pac-10 (2003)
- Sporting News Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (2003)
- Sporting News Freshman All-AmericaAll-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n (2003) - Second-team All-Pac-10 (2004)
- First-team All-Pac-10 (2005)
- First-team APAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
All-American (2005) - Jim Thorpe AwardJim Thorpe AwardThe Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport legend Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986...
semifinalist (2005) - Lott TrophyLott TrophyThe Lott IMPACT Trophy is presented annually to the college football Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. IMPACT is an acronym for: integrity, maturity, performance, academics, community, and tenacity. The award purports to equally recognize the personal character of the winning player as well as...
quarterfinalist (2005)
Oakland Raiders
He was drafted by the Oakland RaidersOakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
with the 101st pick of the 2006 NFL Draft
2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
. Although he was a safety in college, the Oakland Raiders planned to convert him to an outside linebacker, but before the 2007 season they moved him back to safety. Prior to the 2006 season, the Raiders placed Bing on the injured reserve list with a neck injury. On July 25, 2007 the Raiders released him.
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers claimed Bing off waivers on July 26, 2007. They released him on September 1 and re-signed him to the practice squad, where he spent the entire 2007 season.New York Jets
On January 9, 2008, the New York JetsNew York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
signed Bing to a future contract. He was waived by the team on July 29.
Detroit Lions
Bing was signed by the Detroit LionsDetroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
on August 4, 2008 after the team placed linebacker Teddy Lehman
Teddy Lehman
Teddy Lehman is an American football linebacker for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft...
on injured reserve
Injured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
. As the Raiders had unsuccessfully tried, the Lions also converted him to linebacker. He began the season on the team's practice squad before being promoted to the active roster on December 8, 2008 when linebacker Alex Lewis
Alex Lewis
Alex Lewis is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin where he currently holds the record for most sacks in a game with 6.5 on October 18, 2003 vs. Purdue...
was placed on injured reserve. He was released on October 6, 2009.
Houston Texans
Bing signed a contract for the 2010 season on January 8, 2010. He was released at the end of the preseason and signed to the practice squad on October 14.On February 18, 2011, Bing was released from the Texans roster.