Terry Tyree Glenn (July 23, 1974 – November 20, 2017) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, and Dallas Cowboys. He was selected by the New England Patriots seventh overall in the 1996 NFL draft. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, earning consensus All-American honors in 1995.
Glenn never knew his father and his family received public assistance. When he was 13 years old, his mother was beaten to death by a man she had recently met. Glenn was shuttled between relatives until the age of 15, when he was taken in by Charles and Mary Henley, parents of a friend in Columbus, who would serve as his legal guardians. The Henleys' son (June) also played in the NFL and broke some of Gale Sayers' rushing records at the University of Kansas.
He attended Brookhaven High School, where he practiced football, basketball, track and tennis. He didn't play organized football until his sophomore season, becoming a two-way player at wide receiver and cornerback, while also returning kicks. He contributed to the school years. Terry was a AAA State Champion in the 110 Hurdles, and 330 hurdles in both 1989–90.
As a senior in 1991, he was the team's co-captain, registering 14 receptions for 416 yards (29.7-yard avg.) with 4 touchdowns and receiving second-team All-district honors.
Glenn walked-on at Ohio State University, because he grew up admiring the football program, even selling soft drinks at Buckeye games as a teenager. At the time, the team employed a run-oriented offense led by running backs like Raymont Harris and Eddie George.
As a redshirt freshman, he earned a scholarship during spring drills. He saw limited action in 10 games as a backup behind Chris Sanders at flanker, totaling 8 receptions for 156 yards (sixth on the team) with a 19.5-yard average. As a sophomore, he played in 10 games as a backup to both Sanders and Joey Galloway, posting 7 receptions for 110 yards (sixth on the team) with a 15.7-yard average.
He enjoyed a breakout season as a junior after Galloway graduated, starting 12 out of 13 games, sitting out with a separated shoulder against the University of Minnesota. He set school records with 64 receptions for 1,411 yards and 17 touchdowns. He averaged 22 yards-per-reception, which was the highest number among Buckeyes with more than 20 catches in a season. His best game came against University of Pittsburgh, making 9 receptions for 253 yards (school record), a 28.1-yard average, 4 touchdowns and a two-point conversion. He also had 17 rushing yards, 16 yards on punt returns and 29 yards on a kickoff returns, for 315 total yards in the 54–14 victory. At the end of the year, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American and won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the season's outstanding college football receiver.
Glenn declared for the NFL draft after his junior season. He played in 32 career games (12 starts), finishing with 79 receptions for 1,677 yards (fifth in school history), a 21.2-yard average, 17 touchdowns and 6 carries for 31 yards. He also contributed to the return game with 18 kickoff returns for 399 yards (22.2-yard avg.) and 5 punt returns for 28 yards (5.6-yard avg.).
Glenn was selected by the New England Patriots in the first round (seventh overall) of the 1996 NFL draft. He signed a six-year, $12 million contract. He recorded 90 receptions for 1,132 yards (12.6-yard avg.) and six touchdowns in his rookie season, while helping the team reach Super Bowl XXXI.
Patriots head coach, Bill Parcells, was outspoken of his desire to draft a defensive player and how he was overruled by team management. He made his displeasure known referring to Glenn as "she", after he pulled a hamstring two weeks into training camp, that forced him to miss the rest of training camp and the season opener against the Miami Dolphins. Parcells replied to being asked about the rookie's condition, saying: "She's making progress”.
At the time, his 90 receptions were the most ever in a single-season by a rookie in NFL history and the second most in franchise history. He was named the second alternate for the 1997 Pro Bowl.
Parcells left New England and Glenn went into a four-year stretch of personal difficulties and inconsistent play. In 1997, he missed 7 games because of an ankle (2 games) and hamstring (5 games) injuries. He had 7 receptions for 163 yards (fifth in team history) against the Green Bay Packers.
In the season he collected 27 receptions for 431 yards (16-yard avg.) and 2 touchdowns. He suffered a broken collarbone in the AFC Divisional Playoff Game loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In 1998, Glenn set the Patriots receiving record with 193 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He missed 4 games with a hamstring injury he suffered in the sixth game against the New York Jets. He broke his ankle in the fifteenth game against the St. Louis Rams and was placed on the injured reserve list on December 18. He finished with 10 games (9 starts), 50 receptions for 792 yards (15.8-yard avg.) and 3 touchdowns.
In 1999, Glenn led the team with 69 receptions for 1,147 yards (16.6-yard avg.) and 4 touchdowns in 14 games. On October 3, he set the franchise records with 13 receptions for 214 yards against the Cleveland Browns. He was declared inactive for the fifteenth game against the Buffalo Bills because of an illness and he was suspended by the team for the season finale against the Baltimore Ravens.
He had a turbulent season. On November 25, he was cited for speeding and was three hours late for practice. He was later accused of inappropriately touching a woman outside a nightclub the previous night.
On December 29, after missing the fifteenth game against the Buffalo Bills because of the flu, he was suspended for the season finale by head coach Pete Carroll, for failing to show up for treatment.
In January 2000, he tested positive for marijuana and entered the NFL's substance abuse program. On November 8, he was signed to a six-year $50 million contract extension with an $11.5 million signing bonus. On December 18, he was given permission to stay in Buffalo with teammates Ty Law and Troy Brown, to avoid flying in bad weather on the condition that the 3 are back in Foxboro the next day for a team meeting. The players were later seen at a strip club in Canada, Law was arrested for possession of ecstasy and they were also late getting to the Monday meeting.