In 2003, he led Troy in tackles, tackles for losses, and sacks
When DeMarcus Ware was a young kid in Alabama, his mother bought him some cowboy boots. He was nicknamed “boot” because of how often he wore them. It ended up being a fitting nickname due to where he spent the majority of his NFL career.
Ware was not a highly sought-after prospect coming out of Auburn High School in Alabama. Ware was a two-way player, playing wide receiver and linebacker for a team that went 5-5 during his senior year. He also didn’t have many physical gifts at the time, so he wasn’t considered. There was only one school that offered him a scholarship. It was Troy University.
“I didn’t know what recruitment was,” Ware said. “I had one school that offered me a scholarship, which was Troy University. I ran like a 4.7. I was a 185-pound wide receiver coming out.”
The Trojans were competing in the Division I-AA subdivision at the time. During his freshman year in 2001, they transitioned to the FBS level, Division I-A. Ware didn’t get that much playing time during his freshman campaign.
Ware became the full-time starter in 2002 and made a significant impact. He finished that season with 72 tackles, which was fifth on the team. He was top 15 nationally in sacks with nine, and was top 10 in the nation in tackles for losses, with a total of 19.5. Ware was named NCAA Division I-A All Independent Team. That year, he played alongside Osi Umenyiora, who went on to have a successful NFL career himself with multiple Pro Bowl appearances and multiple Super Bowl championships with the New York Giants. The duo that year combined for 25 sacks.
In 2003, he led Troy in tackles, tackles for losses, and sacks. In 2004, he was the Sun Belt Player of the Year. Ware recorded 62 tackles and six sacks. Ware was selected to the NCAA Division I-A All Independent Team for the second straight year.
In 2004, Ware was named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year and was instrumental in Troy going to their first-ever bowl game, appearing in the Silicon Valley Football Classic. He ended his senior year with 53 tackles, 10.5 sacks, which led the Sun Belt Conference, and four forced fumbles. Ware was a finalist for the Hendricks Award, an award for the best defensive end in college football.
Ware ended his collegiate career with 27.5 sacks, 201 tackles, and ten forced fumbles, fully cementing himself as one of the greatest players to play for Troy University and one of the greatest players in the Sun Belt Conference’s history. Ware was a member of the Sun Belt Conference All-Decade Team.
The 27.5 sacks rank top 10 in school history.
A big factor for Ware’s transformation during his collegiate career had to do with the transformation of his body. He was no longer the skinny kid who didn’t have the speed or a set position. He gained 50 pounds, grew three inches, and his 40-yard dash dropped from a 4.7 to a 4.3.
After leaving Troy, Ware entered the 2005 NFL Draft, where he was drafted 11th overall by the Dallas Cowboys. Ware at the time was the highest pick by a player out of Troy, but he ended up being tied with Leodis McKelvin, who was drafted 11th overall in 2008 years the Buffalo Bills. Both Ware and McKelvin are the only Troy players selected in the first round.
Ware went on to spend the first nine seasons of his successful NFL career with the Cowboys from 2005 to 2013. In those nine seasons, Ware was named to seven Pro Bowls and seven All-Pro teams, with four of those seven being first-team selections and the other three being second-team selections.
Ware holds many Cowboy franchise records, ranking first in sacks with 117, first in forced fumbles with 32, first in tackles for loss with 145, and first in quarterback hits with 185.
“This is a rare guy, and what you have to realize is he’s a once-in-a-generation type player,” said Jason Garrett, who was the head coach of the Cowboys from 2010 to 2019.
In 2014, one day after being released by the Cowboys, Ware signed with the Denver Broncos, where he would play three more seasons. In Denver, Ware made two more Pro Bowls and was a big part of the Broncos’ winning Super Bowl 50. “When I hoisted that trophy up, that was the point to where i’m like, ‘I made it,’ and being a champion feels good,” said Ware after that Super Bowl. Ware played one more season, then decided to retire from football in March of 2017 at the age of 34.
Ware ranks ninth in NFL history with 138.5 sacks in his 12-year career. He led the NFL in sacks in 2008 with 20, and again in 2010 with 15.5. With the 20 sacks in 2008, he is one of 12 players in NFL history to record 20 or more sacks in a single season.
Ware made history in 2023 when he was inducted into the National Football Hall of Fame. He was the first player from Troy and the first player from the Sun Belt Conference to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Ware has always been grateful for his time with Troy and how it set him up for success at the next level.
“I’m proud to be a Troy Trojan,” Ware stated during his Hall of Fame enshrinement speech back in 2023. “I had an amazing college family.”
Ware was inducted into the Troy University Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame in 2014, the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2023, and had his jersey retired by the university in 2023.
“DeMarcus Ware is one of the greatest players to ever step on a football field in the history of the game, and we are incredibly proud to call him a Troy Trojan,” said Troy Athletics Director Brent Jones.
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