Brandon Short Brandon Darrell Short ( born July 11 , 1977 ) is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League ( NFL ) for seven seasons . He played college football for Penn State University , and was recognized as an All - American . He played professionally for the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers of the NFL , and was a member the Giants ' team that played in Super Bowl XXXV . Early years . Short was born in McKeesport , Pennsylvania . He attended McKeesport Area High School , where he played high school football for the McKeesport Tigers . He was named Associated Press Pennsylvania Big School Player - of - the - Year as a senior after compiling 171 tackles , eight sack s , two interception s , five forced fumbles , six fumble recoveries and one blocked punt and leading the Tigers to the Class AAAA state championship and a 15 - 0 record . He lettered four times in both football and basketball . He was named to the " USA Today " list of Top 25 high school players in the country , a high school All - American and was the 1995 Big 33 Most Valuable Player . A superb basketball player as well , Short was a member of a McKeesport team that attained the No . 1 state ranking his senior year . College career . Short attended Penn State University , where he was a four - year starter and two - time captain for coach Joe Paterno ' s Penn State Nittany Lions football team . He was named defensive MVP of the 1998 Citrus Bowl , and All - Big Ten as a senior and junior . Short earned All - America honors as a senior in 1999 . He and teammate LaVar Arrington were the first teammates to be chosen as finalists for the Butkus Award as the nation ’ s top linebacker . Together they made up one of the most fearsome linebacker duos ever to play at " Linebacker U " , capping their senior season with a 24 - 0 shutout of Texas A & M in the 1999 Alamo Bowl . Short led the team with 103 tackles and four sack s that season . Freshman Season . Short played on five snaps as a true freshman in Penn State ' s first game with Texas Tech . The following week he broke a bone in his foot and spent most of the rest of the season in rehabilitation , practicing but not playing in the final month of the season to earn a medical red shirt . The next season Short started every game at rush end / linebacker and led the Nittany Lions with 12 tackles for - 50 yards , while his 3 . 5 sacks for - 20 yards was among the team ' s best . His tackle total was 48 ( 20 solo ) and he caused and recovered a fumble , blocked a field goal and broke up two passes . He was in for 812 plays . Everything began to click for Short as he got used to his new position and he totaled a season - high 10 tackles , and caused and recovered a fumble in the season finale with Michigan State . His play in the Fiesta Bowl included six stops , among them two tackles for loss ( - 11 yards ) and a sack . Sophomore Year . On the original list of Butkus Award candidates , Short made stops ( 42 solo ) , fourth on the team , despite missing the better part of three games with an ankle injury . He started eight regular season games and was in for 563 snaps . Short anchored a defense that while bending and giving up some yardage , managed to hold six teams to 17 points or less . He recorded 12 tackles for losses , tied for second on the team , with 2 . 5 sacks , an interception and three pass breakups . Short earned team Defensive MVP honors in the Citrus Bowl . Junior Year . Short led the Lions resurgence and topped the squad in tackles en route to first - team All - Big Ten honors . He recorded 67 tackles ( 49 solo ) with 15 tackles for - 42 yards . and 5 . 5 sacks . A semi - finalist for the Butkus Award . Short tied his career high with 10 stops ( 8 solo ) at Minnesota , including a career best 3 sacks to earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week , and ABC Player of the Game honors . Short earned his Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Penn State in 1999 . Professional career . A fourth - round pick of the New York Giants ( # 105 overall ) in the 2000 NFL Draft played 5 seasons for the New York Giants and two for the Carolina Panthers . In his rookie year saw action in 11 regular season games and was inactive for five games because of an ankle injury . Appeared in all three of the Giants postseason contest , including Super Bowl XXXV . Short was involved in an infamous 2002 training camp cafeteria fistfight with teammate Jeremy Shockey . The two players brawled after Shockey , a rookie , refused to sing his college fight song — a training camp hazing ritual . Short was in the news again after he broke New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington ' s wrist during a tackle in the 2003 Giants - Jets preseason game . Pennington would miss the first six games of the 2003 season . Short signed as a free agent with the Carolina Panthers in 2004 , and appeared in all 32 games at strongside linebacker with Carolina in 2004 and 2005 . He tallied 70 tackle s and helped the Panther ' s defense collect 38 take - aways , which tied a team record . He returned to the New York Giants in April 2006 , signing as a free agent . Personal . Short was an NFL analyst for Daily News Live , a current T . V . show with NY media panels who analyze NY sports on the SNY Network in NYC . He earned an MBA from Columbia Business School in 2010 , and began working for Goldman Sachs that year . He moved to the firm ' s Dubai unit in 2012 . Short left Goldman Sachs in April 2013 to co - found World Business Partners UAE , a Middle East lender specializing in loans for small - and medium - sized companies which comply with Islam ’ s ban on interest , along with the religion ' s bans on investments in alcohol , firearms , and other products .