Clay Shiver

Clay Shiver
No. 50, 60
Position: Center/Guard
Personal information
Date of birth: December 7, 1972
Place of birth: Tifton, Georgia
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight: 283 lb (128 kg)
Career information
High school: Tifton (GA) Tift Co.
College: Florida State
NFL draft: 1996 / Round: 3 / Pick: 67
Career history
*Inactive and/or offseason member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 44
Games started: 25
Fumbles recovered: 1
Stats at NFL.com
Stats at pro-football-reference.com

Spencer Clay Shiver (born December 7, 1972) is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons during the 1990s. He played college football for Florida State University, where he was a member of a national championship team and earned All-American honors. Thereafter, he played professionally for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.

Early years

Shiver was born in Tifton, Georgia.[1] He attended Tift County High School,[2] where he played high school football for the Tift County Blue Devils. He received recognition as a high school All-American.

College career

Shiver accepted an athletic scholarship to attend Florida State University, where he played for coach Bobby Bowden's Florida State Seminoles football team from 1992 to 1995. As a sophomore in 1993, he was the snapper for quarterback Charlie Ward and a member of the Seminoles' Bowl Coalition national championship team that defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 18–16 in the Orange Bowl.

Shiver was recognized as a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selection in 1993, 1994 and 1995, and a first-team All-American in 1994 and 1995, garnering "consensus" status in 1995.[3] Bobby Bowden called him "the greatest center I ever coached." In his junior and senior years, he was awarded the Jacobs Blocking Trophy presented annually to the best blocker in the ACC.[3] Shiver was inducted into the Florida State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Shiver was selected in the third round (67th overall) of the 1996 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He replaced Ray Donaldson and started in all 16 games in 1997. He started the first nine games in 1998, before being limited with a turf toe injury and eventually being replaced in the starting line up with 31 year old rookie Mike Kiselak.

He struggled during his time with the Cowboys because he lacked size and strength, so the team chose to sign free agent Mark Stepnoski in 1999, instead of re-signing him.

Denver Broncos

In 1999, he signed as a free agent with the Denver Broncos, but was released before the season started.[4]

Carolina Panthers

On December, 14, 1999, he was signed by the Carolina Panthers, to fill the roster spot left open by the injured Nate Newton, but he did not appear in a regular season game.[5] He was released in the 2000 off-season.[6]

Personal life

Shiver has been featured in many national publications and on CBS's 48 Hours special about character in college football.

References

  1. ↑ National Football League, Historical Players, Clay Shiver. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  2. ↑ databaseFootball.com, Players, Clay Shiver. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Seminoles.com, FSU Hall of Fame, Clay Shiver. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  4. ↑ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/news/1999/06/08/broncos_shiver/
  5. ↑ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19991215&id=LC4jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=088EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4639,6413377
  6. ↑ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=894&dat=20000723&id=h68KAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K00DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5333,2743362

External links