Greg Myers (American football)

Greg Myers
No. 31
Position: Safety
Personal information
Date of birth: (1972-09-30) September 30, 1972
Place of birth: Tampa, Florida
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight: 202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school: Windsor High School,
Windsor, Colorado
College: Colorado State
NFL draft: 1996 / Round: 5 / Pick: 144
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 64
Games started: 38
Tackles: 221
Interceptions: 4
Forced fumbles: 4
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Gregory Jay Myers (born September 30, 1972) is an American former college and professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons. He played college football for Colorado State University, was recognized as a consensus All-American, and won the Jim Thorpe Award. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft, and also played for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.

Early years

Myers was born in Tampa, Florida.[1] He attended Windsor High School in Windsor, Colorado,[2] and played for the Windsor Wizards high school football team and was also a member of the Wizards track and field team.[3] In track, he was the Colorado high school champion in the pole vault (twice), 100-meter dash (twice), and the 200-meter dash.[3]

College career

He attended Colorado State University, where he was a defensive back for coach Earle Bruce and coach Sonny Lubick's Colorado State Rams football teams from 1992 to 1995.[4] He was a first-team All-Western Athletic Conference (WAC) selection for four consecutive seasons (1992–1995)—the only player in the history of the WAC to achieve that distinction.[4][5] As a junior in 1994, he received first-team All-American honors from the Football Writers Association of America, Scripps-Howard, and The Sporting News. As a senior in 1995, he won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the nation, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American after receiving first-team selections from the Associated Press, United Press International, the Walter Camp Foundation, and The Sporting News.[6]

During Myers' four years as a Ram, the team improved significantly.[4] The Rams compiled a 10–2 record and won an outright WAC championship in 1994, and finished 8–4 and shared the WAC title in 1995.[4]

In addition to his athletic prowess, Myers was a standout in the college classroom.[4] He earned Academic All-America honors in 1994 and 1995, and received the WAC's Stan Bates Award as the conference's best overall student athlete in 1996.[4] He was also the recipient of an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship.[4]

Professional career

The Cincinnati Bengals selected Myers in the fifth round (144th pick overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft,[7] and he played for the Bengals from 1996 to 1999.[1] He finished his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys in 2000.[1] In his five NFL seasons, he appeared in 64 regular season games, started 38 of them, compiled 221 tackles, four interceptions and four forced fumbles.[8]

Life after football

Myers is currently an anesthesiologist in the level one trauma unit at Denver Health Medical Center in Denver, Colorado.[5] He is also an assistant professor through the University of Colorado residency program.[5] Myers is married, and he and his wife Kara have a son and a daughter.[5] They live in Morrison, Colorado.[3]

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.[3] Also in 2012, Myers was a member of the inaugural Windsor High School (Colo.) Athletic Hall of Fame.

References

  1. 1 2 3 National Football League, Historical Players, Greg Myers. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  2. ↑ databaseFootball.com, Players, Greg Myers. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 T. M. Fasano, "Former Windsor, CSU and professional football player is now a doctor in Denver," The Tribune (April 9, 2012). Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Colorado State University 2011 Ram Football, Colorado State University Athletic Department, Fort Collins, Colorado, pp. 156, 168, 170, 171–172, 178 (2011). Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Irv Moss, "Colorado Classics: One-time football star Greg Myers now an anesthesiologist and professor," The Denver Post (April 18, 2012). Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  6. ↑ 2010 Division I Football Records Book, Award Winners and All-Americans, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, p. 10 (2010). Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  7. ↑ Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History, 1996 National Football League Draft. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  8. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Greg Myers. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
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