 michael dean rucker (born february 28, 1975) is a former american football defensive end who played eight seasons for the carolina panthers of the national football league (nfl). he played college football for the university of nebraska, and was drafted by the panthers in the second round of the 1999 nfl draft. ==early years== rucker played both sides of the ball in high school, registering 168 tackles as a senior, while catching 15 passes for 300 yards as a wide receiver. he was a two-time all-state lineman, and made the all-america team his senior year. in addition, he also lettered in track & field four years, and was a state champion shot putter. he also earned three letters on the benton high school basketball team. ==college career== rucker attended the university of nebraska, where he played for the nebraska cornhuskers football team. he redshirted as a true freshman, and then collected his first sack the following season. he was a member of the national champion cornhuskers team in 1995 and 1997. as a senior in 1998, he made second-team all-big 12, despite missing much of the season because of injury. he finished his college days as nebraska's fourth all-time tackler behind the line of scrimmage, with 40 stops. ==professional career== rucker was drafted by carolina in the second round (38th overall) of the 1999 nfl draft. he collected three sacks his rookie year, playing in all 16 games. his first sack came against cincinnati bengals quarterback jeff blake. he registered 2.5 sacks in his second season, and became a starter for the 2001 nfl season. he ended the season leading the team with 9 sacks. he was the nfl defensive player of the month for september 2003, when he had 5 sacks, 21 tackles, 13 hurries and one batted pass during the first four games of the 2003 nfl season. he and fel
1975_births African-American_players_of_American_football American_football_defensive_ends Carolina_Panthers_players Living_people National_Conference_Pro_Bowl_players Nebraska_Cornhuskers_football_players People_from_St._Joseph,_Missouri