Dennis Thurman
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| Dennis Thurman | |
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| Date of birth: | April 13, 1956 |
| Place of birth: |  Los Angeles, California |
| Career information | |
| Position(s): | Cornerback |
| College: | Southern California |
| NFL Draft: | 1978 / Round: 11 / Pick 306 |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1978-1985 1986 |
Dallas Cowboys St. Louis Cardinals |
| Stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
Dennis Thurman (born April 13, 1956 in Los Angeles, California) is a retired American football cornerback in the NFL.
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[edit] Professional career
Thurman played for the Dallas Cowboys between 1978 and 1985 and in 1986 played for the St. Louis Cardinals. He recovered an onside kick for the Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII.
Thurman had 3 interceptions, including a 39-yard touchdown and one to clinch the victory at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas in the 1983 National Football League playoffs semi-finals against the Green Bay Packers. Thurman finished his career with 36 interceptions, which he returned for 562 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also recovered 7 fumbles.
During the 1985-86 season quarterback Danny White nicknamed Thurman along with fellow safety Michael Downs and cornerbacks Everson Walls and Ron Fellows, "Thurman's Thieves", for their opportunistic play in the secondary.
[edit] College career
Thurman played college football at University of Southern California where he graduated in 1977 as a 2-time All-America safety and flanker and was part of the 1974 National Champion team. Thurman played for John McKay and later for John Robinson and was teammates with Ronnie Lott while at USC while lot was an underclassmen. Lott credits Thurman for his development as a player in his NFL Hall of Fame speech who he credits as someone who "helped me become a better football player."
He was a member of the 1974 USC National Championship team and played on Trojan teams that won 4-bowl games. In his Trojan career, he had 13 INTs, returning 2 for TDs, and led the Pac-10 in INTs with 8 in 1976.Dennis also had 169 career tackles, 11 PD and 4 FR.He was USC’s MVP in 1977...Won USC’s Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1977...Played in the 1978 Senior Bowl...Was a 1977 Playboy Pre-Season All-American...Led USC in interceptions in 1976 (8, tops in the Pac-8)...Led USC in punt returns in 1976 (68 yards)...Is tied for sixth on USC’s career interception list (13, including 2 intercepted fumbles)...
==High School== Thurman played high school football at Santa Monica High where he was a quarterback and defensive back and was a part of three CIF Division I championship teams that combined to go 39-1-1. He is the older brother of Ulysses "Junior" Thurman who also starred at Santa Monica High (1981) and went on to star at USC where he played safety next to All-American Tim McDonald.
[edit] Coaching career
He is currently the Baltimore Ravens secondary coach and has been coaching with various teams since 1988.
He coached from 1993 to 2000 for his alma mater, the USC Trojans where he mentored future NFLers Chris Cash, Kris Richard, Daylon McCutcheon, Brian Kelly and Troy Polamalu.
[edit] External links
- Dennis Thurman Profile at USC Legends
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