Jerry Eckwood

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Jerry Eckwood
Date of birth: December 26, 1954 (1954-12-26) (age 53)
Place of birth: Flag of the United States Brinkley, Arkansas
Career information
Position(s): Running back
College: Arkansas
NFL Draft: 1979 / Round: 3 / Pick 60
Organizations
 As player:
1979-1981 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Stats at DatabaseFootball.com

Jerry Eckwood (born December 26, 1954) is a former NFL running back. He played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1979-1981, and was a key member of the Buccaneers first playoff appearance in 1979. Eckwood played collegiately for the Arkansas Razorbacks from 1975-78.

Contents

[edit] High School Career

Eckwood was a highly recruited running back out of Brinkley, Arkansas[1], rushing for 2616 yards in 1973 [2]. He was signed to a scholarship with the Arkansas Razorbacks by then-head coach Frank Broyles.

[edit] Collegiate career

Eckwood played for the Razorbacks from 1975-78, and was a three-year letterman ('75, '76, '78), playing both for Broyles and Lou Holtz. Eckwood was named 1st Team All Southwest Conference in 1975, rushing for 792 yards on 104 carries. His 7.62 yards per carry that season remained a school record until shattered by Felix Jones in 2007. Eckwood had six 100-yard rushing games in his Razorback career, five of those games occurring in 1975[3].

[edit] NFL career

After completing his eligibility with the Razorbacks, Eckwood was taken in the third round of the 1979 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers[4], ahead of notable players such as NFL Hall of Famer Joe Montana and Pro Bowlers Kenny King, William Andrews, and Tony Franklin. Eckwood shared the backfield with quarterback Doug Williams and running back Ricky Bell. Eckwood rushed 515 times for 1845 yards (3.6 avg.) and six touchdowns in his 3-year NFL career, all with the Buccaneers. He also caught 93 passes for 956 yards (10.3 avg.) and one touchdown[5]. In 1979, Eckwood was the Buccaneers' second- leading rusher with 690 yards on 194 carries. Tampa Bay made the first playoff appearance in franchise history in 1979, advancing to NFC Championship Game, losing to the Los Angeles Rams 9-0. Eckwood's 42-yard option pass to Larry Mucker was the Bucs' longest play of the game.

In 1980, Eckwood was again second in rushing with 504 yards, and was also second on the team with 47 receptions. In 1981, Eckwood led the Buccaneers in rushing with 651 yards on 172 carries (3.8 avg.). In Eckwood's final NFL season Tampa Bay finished with a 9-7 record, losing in the first round of the 1981 NFL playoffs to the Dallas Cowboys[6]. Eckwood was selected the 77th Greatest player in Buccaneer history in 2007 [7].

[edit] References

http://www.hogwired.com/pdf2/40494.pdf?ATCLID=530225&SPSID=30726&SPID=2419&DB_OEM_ID=6100

[edit] External links