Gary Brackett
Encyclopedia
Gary Lawrence Brackett is an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

 for the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

 of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. He was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at Rutgers
Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represents Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision play...

.

Early years

Brackett attended Glassboro High School
Glassboro High School
Glassboro High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Glassboro, in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Glassboro Public Schools....

 in Glassboro, New Jersey.. He was a two-time All-South Jersey selection, a two-time All-Group I choice, and a two-time All-Tri-County Conference choice.

College career

Brackett was a walk-on to the Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

 football team. By his senior year, he was captain of the defensive team and won the team's defensive MVP honors.

Professional career

Brackett was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2003. Brackett was a backup his first two years until he became a starter in 2005. That year he had 127 tackles, three interceptions and a sack. In 2006 he was named defensive capatain of the Colts and had 120 tackles. He started for the Colts in their Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...

 win over the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

. In 2007 Brackett recorded 116 tackles and four interceptions. He recorded 99 tackles in both 2008 and 2009. He started for the Colts in their Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of...

 loss to the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

.

Personal

During a 16-month span, starting in 2003, Brackett lost his mother, father, and brother.

In 2009 Brackett was the 11th annual recipient of the Arthur S. Arkush Humanitarian Award, presented to an NFL player “whose contributions to the community and charitable organizations are especially outstanding.” He won the award for his work with the IMPACT Foundation, a charity he founded in the spring of 2007.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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