Mike Rucker 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 put ter . 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 fellow defensive end Julius Peppers were the only duo to register 10 sacks each . The following year , Rucker again won Defensive Player of the Month for September , becoming only the 11th player in history to win POTM honors for the same month in two consecutive years ; former Panther Sam Mills won POTM in November 1995 and 1996 . Rucker finished the season with 12 sacks , and earned his first berth in the Pro Bowl . On December 17 , 2006 , in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers , Rucker suffered an anterior cruciate ligament ( ACL ) tear in his left knee , causing him to miss the remainder of the 2006 season . He returned for his final season in 2007 , before announcing his retirement from the game on April 22 , 2008 . Other activities . Rucker , along with former teammates Mike Minter , Stephen Davis , and Muhsin Muhammad , are co - founders of Ruckus House , a child development and learning facility . One of Rucker ' s long - term goals for Ruckus House is to get one in every city which has an NFL team . In 2005 Mike founded Vision Group Realty , a full service real estate brokerage firm , providing brokerage services to both buyers and sellers of residential and commercial real estate . The firm headquarters is located in Charlotte , NC , and services relocating clients locally , nationally and globally . In the 2008 offseason , he traveled to Afghanistan to visit with troops along with Luis Castillo , Tommie Harris , and " Sports Illustrated " writer Peter King . Rucker made a video documentary of his experiences for NFL Network , stating that if he was not a pro football athlete , he could easily envision himself in the military . Mike Rucker is a commentator on preseason games for the Carolina Panthers on the Panthers Television Network . Family . Rucker ' s younger brother , Martin was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2008 NFL Draft , 111th overall .