Former Tennessee State University defensive end, Richard Dent, has been voted for induction into the National Football League’s Hall of Fame for 2011. Dent will be the first former Tiger to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.
Dent played for the Tigers from 1979 – 1982 and earned All-American honors from 1980-82 including Sheridan Broadcasting Network “Defensive Player of the Year” in 1982. Dent finished his playing days at Tennessee State with 39 sacks, recording a season high of fourteen in 1982.
He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1983 and played fourteen seasons in the NFL with four teams, the Bears (1983-1993), San Francisco Forty-Niners (1994), Indianapolis Colts (1996) and the Philadelphia Eagles (1997). While playing with the Bears, Dent was named “MVP” of Super Bowl XX when the Bears defeated the New England Patriots 46-10.
During his NFL career, Dent amassed 137.5 QB sacks, recording double-digit QB sacks in eight NFL seasons. In 1984 he led the NFL with a record 17.5 sacks and in 1985 he led the NFL with 17 sacks. He was named All-Pro four times and was a 5-time All-NFC selection.
Dent was inducted into the Tennessee State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.
Richard Dent presently resides in Chicago, Illinois and heads the Make a Dent Foundation, a 501(3)(c) organization, founded over 14 years ago, with the primary goal of improving the lives of children. Over the years, the foundation has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to worthwhile organizations such as The Illinois Literacy Foundation, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Kentucky, Colin Powell’s America’s Promise, Angels on the Fairway, United Negro College Fund, the Better Boys Foundation, and many others.
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