DeMarcus Ware DeMarcus Ware ( born July 31 , 1982 ) is an American football defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He was drafted with the 11th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft out of Troy University . In 2009 , Ware was listed as the best 3 - 4 outside linebacker by " Sporting News " and has been described as " the most dynamic defender in the league right now " by ESPN . Pete Prisco ranked Ware as the best defensive player going into the 2012 season and 3rd best player overall behind Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady . Early years . Ware played football , basketball , baseball , and ran track as a youth . In football , Ware played both linebacker and wide receiver , and as a senior , he won every game , was named the team Most Valuable Wide Receiver , team Most Valuable Linebacker , and then was awarded the team ' s Top Leadership honors . He finished his senior season with seven sacks and 55 total tackles ( 40 solo tackles , 15 assisted tackles ) . Ware and current New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora attended Auburn High School , as well as former Washington Redskins linebacker Marcus Washington . Ware , along with fellow pro - mates , annually attends a celebrity basketball game held at his high school . The event was started by Marcus Washington . College career . DeMarcus Ware attended Troy University and was a two time All - Sun Belt Conference selection . He and Osi Umenyiora of the New York Giants were teammates . As a senior he was the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year , and was a finalist for the Hendricks Award , which is given annually to the top defensive end in college football . In 2004 , he led his team to its first - ever bowl appearance - Silicon Valley Football Classic . He finished his college career with 27 . 5 sacks , 195 tackles ( 57 for losses ) , 74 quarterback hurries , ten forced fumbles , four fumble recoveries , and one interception . His 27 . 5 sacks rank second in school history for sacks in a career , and his 57 tackles for losses rank first in school history . Professional career . 2005 NFL Draft . A defensive end at Troy , Ware was considered a " tweener DE / OLB prospect " by most scouts . He was supposed to be a perfect fit as rush linebacker in 3 - 4 defense prior the 2005 NFL Draft and was projected to go early in the second round of the draft by " Sports Illustrated " . Cowboys Owner / GM Jerry Jones decided to overrule then head coach Bill Parcells who wanted to select Marcus Spears ( later drafted by Dallas at # 20 ) , and decided to draft Ware with the 11th overall pick . There was also discussion prior to the draft of drafting Shawne Merriman with the 11th pick . Ware also was credited with 430 - pound bench press , a 570 - pound squat and a 360 - pound power clean . 2005 season . In his NFL debut against San Diego Chargers Ware posted three tackles , a tackle for a loss , and a quarterback pressure . Cowboys won the game 28 - 24 . In a match against San Francisco in Week 3 , he recorded his first sack taking down Tim Rattay . Ware earned the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month award for October after recording 16 tackles , three sacks , and seven quarterback pressures to help Dallas go 3 - 2 . In Week 16 , Ware recorded three sacks and three forced fumbles in a match against the Carolina Panthers . For that performance , Ware was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week and the Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week . He also tied the Cowboys record for most sacks in a single game , held by Randy White . He finished with 58 total tackles , 14 tackles for losses and three forced fumbles . He tied Greg Ellis for a team - best eight sacks and joined Jimmie Jones as the only rookies to ever lead or tie for the Dallas Cowboys ' team lead in sacks . Ware finished tied for 24th in the league in sacks in a year where Derrick Burgess led the league in sacks with 16 . 2006 season . In 2006 , Ware ended the regular season with a team - high 11 . 5 sacks , the most ever by a Cowboys linebacker . This total broke Anthony Dickerson ’ s record of 10 . 5 from 1983 . He added 73 tackles , a fumble recovery and an interception , both returned for a touchdown . Ware was named a starter on the NFC Pro Bowl team and was also named Second - team All - Pro by The Associated Press . In Week 6 against division rival Eagles , Ware had a memorable moment with his 69 - yard fumble return for his first NFL touchdown . He recorded his first career interception against Michael Vick in match against Atlanta Falcons and returned it for a 41 - yard touchdown . Ware tied for 9th in the league in total sacks and Shawne Merriman led the league with 17 sacks . 2007 season . Ware broke out with his 2007 season , leading new Cowboys ' Head Coach Wade Phillips to call him the best outside linebacker in the league . Ware became the second Cowboy ever to record at least 14 sacks in a season , since Jim Jeffcoat in 1986 . Ware also led the team in quarterback pressures ( 27 ) , tackles for losses ( 8 ) , and forced fumbles ( 4 ) while finishing with 80 tackles . Ware made his second straight Pro Bowl along with 12 other teammates . He was also selected to the All - Pro team for the second straight year along with teammates , Terrell Owens and Jason Witten . Ware finished tied for 3rd in the league behind Patrick Kerney ( 14 . 5 sacks ) and Jared Allen ( 15 . 5 sacks ) . 2008 season . In the 2008 matchup against the St . Louis Rams , Ware tied the NFL record of former Denver Broncos linebacker Simon Fletcher for recording a sack in ten straight games . Ware was selected to his third consecutive Pro Bowl after pacing the league , establishing an official club record and tying Derrick Thomas for sixth in league history with 20 sacks . Ware ended the 2008 season with 84 tackles , 9 tackles for a loss , 6 forced fumbles , and 2 passes defended . Ware was named NFC Defensive Player of the Year by Kansas City Committee as well as NFL Alumni Pass Rusher of the Year . Ware also became the first recipient of the professional Butkus Award . Ware finished the season as the league leader in sacks for the first time in his career . Joey Porter finished second on the list with 17 . 5 sacks and John Abraham third with 16 . 5 sacks . 2009 season . In October , Ware signed a six - year , $ 78 million contract , putting him among the top - five highest paid defenders in the NFL . Two months later , Ware suffered a neck injury and was taken off the field by a cart while playing against the San Diego Chargers . The injury was diagnosed later as a sprained neck . He was taken to the hospital for further tests , but was released the next day . He came back to play the very next week , against the then - undefeated New Orleans Saints , and recorded two sack - fumbles , including the one that ended the Saints ' chances at a comeback . For this performance , he was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week . He made his fourth consecutive appearance in the Pro Bowl as a starter in 2009 , after leading the Cowboys with 11 . 0 sacks , a career - high 45 pressures , and five forced fumbles . He was also named to the First All - Pro team . 2010 season . Ware recorded 15 . 5 sacks and led the NFL in that category for the second time in three seasons . He also made his fifth straight Pro Bowl and garnered another All - Pro nomination . By leading the NFL in sacks for the second time , Ware tied the record for most seasons leading the league in sacks with two . He tied Mark Gastineau , 1983 – 84 ; Reggie White , 1987 – 88 ; Kevin Greene , 1994 , 1996 ; Michael Strahan , 2001 , 2003 and Jared Allen , 2007 , 2011 . 2011 season . In 2011 Ware had 19 . 5 sacks , 47 tackles , 2 pass deflections , and 2 forced fumbles . Ware ended the season only half sack away from both becoming the first player in NFL history to post multiple 20 + sack seasons and becoming the 29th player in NFL history to reach 100 + career sacks . Ware was also 2 . 5 sacks shy of becoming the first player ever to lead the league in sacks three times . Earlier in the season , Ware was on pace to pass Michael Strahan ' s sack record of 22 . 5 sacks in a season but fell short . On October 30 , 2011 , Ware recorded a career - high 4 sacks against the Philadelphia Eagles in a 34 - 7 loss . Ware finished second in the NFL in total sacks for 2011 behind Jared Allen who posted 22 . 0 sacks . Jason Babin finished third and Jason Pierre - Paul fourth with 18 . 0 and 16 . 5 sacks respectively . Ware was selected to the 2012 Pro Bowl as a starter and voted to the All - Pro team again . 2012 season . On the season opener against the defending Super Bowl Champions New York Giants at MetLife Stadium , Ware recorded 2 sacks against Eli Manning to reach 101 . 5 sacks for his career . With these two sacks Ware became the 2nd fastest player ( 113 games ) to reach 100 sacks behind Reggie White ( 96 games ) while also becoming just the 29th player in NFL history to reach 100 or more sacks . At the end of the 2012 season , Ware was selected to his 7th Pro Bowl and was named to the 2nd All Pro team . Ware was unable to play in the Pro Bowl after his off season shoulder surgery . 2013 season . Due to the Cowboys switch to the 4 - 3 from the 3 - 4 , under new defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin , DeMarcus will move to defensive end . Awards , Recognitions and Other Statistics . Ware is tied for the record of most seasons leading the league in sacks with two ( 2008 and 2010 ) . Ware is tied with Mark Gastineau , 1983 – 84 ; Reggie White , 1987 – 88 ; Kevin Greene , 1994 , 1996 ; Michael Strahan , 2001 , 2003 and Jared Allen , 2007 , 2011 . As of the end of the 2012 season , Ware has recorded 10 + sacks in 7 straight seasons . Only 2 other players in NFL history have more consecutive seasons with 10 + sacks : Reggie White ( 9 ) , John Randle ( 8 ) Pete Prisco , CBS Sports Senior NFL Columnist , ranked Ware as the 3rd best player in the NFL ( behind Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady ) going into the 2012 season and as the best defensive player in the NFL . In 2012 , NFL . com analyst Daniel Jeremiah ranked Ware as the best edge pass rusher in the league and a " top - five player in the NFL , regardless of position " . The controversial NFL Top 100 for 2012 ranked Ware as the best rusher , best linebacker , 2nd overall defensive player behind defensive back Darrelle Revis ( number 5 overall ) and the 6th overall player in the NFL . Ware is the second fastest player ever to reach 100 + sacks ( Reggie White is the fastest ) and just the 29th player in history to do so . Ware has recorded 26 multiple - sack games and 32 forced fumbles , both most in club history . Ware has ranked in the top three in total sacks league - wide in 4 out of the last 5 seasons ( 3rd place in 2007 , 1st place in 2008 , 7th place in 2009 , 1st place in 2010 , 2nd place in 2011 ) and is recognized by many as one of the top defensive players in the league . Personal life . In March 2005 , Ware married his high school sweetheart , Taniqua Smith , a former Air Force member and the daughter of a police officer . After three difficult pregnancies — including the birth and death of a son , Omar , in 2006 — they adopted their daughter , Marley . They planned to become a foster family , as well as continue trying for a biological family , which they achieved with the birth of their son , DeMarcus , Jr . , on November 20 , 2010 . Ware graduated from Troy with a degree in business information systems , becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college . He takes part in multiple charities . Ware and his mother have appeared in Chunky Soup Commercials with LaDainian Tomlinson , Jonathan Vilma , Matt Hasselbeck , Maurice Jones - Drew , and other prominent young players with their mothers .