Shelton Quarles

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Shelton Quarles
Date of birth	September 11, 1971 (age 35)
Place of birth	Nashville, TN
Position(s)	Linebacker
College	Vanderbilt
Honors	1 Super Bowl ring
Statistics	CBS.com
Team(s)
1995-1996 1997-present	British Columbia Lions Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Shelton Eugene Quarles (born September 11, 1971 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a current linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team he played for in his ten year career from 1997 to 2006.

[edit] High School Years

Quarles attended Whites Creek High School in Nashville, Tennessee and was a student and a letterman in football. In football, he won a first-team All-State honors as a senior, and finished his career with 30 sacks, 505 tackles, and five interceptions. He was also a member of National Honor Society. Shelton Quarles graduated from Whites Creek High School in 1989.

[edit] College and Pro Career

Quarles played college football in Vanderbilt earning second-team All-Southeastern Conference honors as a senior and signed as an undrafted free agent by the Miami Dolphins in 1994 but got cut in training camp. Quarles then played for two seasons (1995-96) with the CFL's British Columbia Lions before signing with the Buccaneers as a free agent in 1997.

Quarles helped lead the Buccaneers to its first Super Bowl championship in the 2002 season. He finished second in the team in tackles with 163 in 2004 and his 653 tackles though the 2005 season is sixth all-time in club history. Quarles also owns the longest play in Buccaneers history with a 98-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in 2001.

Quarles has also launched the IMPACT Foundation whose mission is to benefit at-risk children, youth and their families by providing assistance, programs and events designed to build self-esteem, provide unique life changing opportunities and help them to set and achieve their life goals.

More information about the IMPACT Foundation may be found at http://www.sheltonquarles.org/