No. 75 | |||||||||
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Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | Thomasville, Georgia, U.S. | February 3, 1970||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 270 lb (122 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Thomasville | ||||||||
College: | Alabama | ||||||||
NFL draft: | 1993 / round: 1 / pick: 6 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Eric Felece Curry (born February 3, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1990s. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, and earned consensus All-American honors. A first-round pick in the 1993 NFL draft, he played professionally for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL.
Curry was born in Thomasville, Georgia. [1] He graduated from Thomasville High School, [2] and played for the Thomasville High School Bulldogs high school football team.
Curry accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Alabama, where he played for coach Bill Curry and coach Gene Stallings' Alabama Crimson Tide football teams from 1989 to 1992. As a senior in 1992, Curry was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American and the United Press International Lineman of the Year. He was a member of the Crimson Tide squad that won the first SEC Championship Game in 1992, and a consensus national championship by defeating the Miami Hurricanes 34–13 in the Sugar Bowl. Curry and fellow defensive end John Copeland were known as the "bookends" during their time at Alabama, and were key players in the Crimson Tide's No. 1 rated defense in 1992.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Curry in the first round, with the sixth overall pick, of the 1993 NFL Draft. [3] [4] He gained notoriety for happily hugging the NFL Commissioner, Paul Tagliabue, after he was picked by the Buccaneers in the draft. He played for the Buccaneers from 1993 to 1997. He signed a free agent deal with the Green Bay Packers in 1998, but was released during the preseason. [5] Curry played for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1998 to 1999. [6] In seven NFL seasons, Curry played in 75 regular season games, started 44 of them, and contributed 95 tackles, 12.5 quarterback sacks, and seven forced fumbles. [6]
Year | Team | Games | Combined Tackles | Tackles | Assisted Tackles | Sacks | Forced Fumbles | Fumble Recoveries |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1993 | TB | 10 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 5.0 | 2 | 1 |
1994 | TB | 15 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 3.0 | 2 | 0 |
1995 | TB | 16 | 29 | 25 | 4 | 2.0 | 1 | 1 |
1996 | TB | 12 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 |
1997 | TB | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
1998 | JAX | 11 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
1999 | JAX | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
Career | 75 | 90 | 72 | 18 | 12.5 | 6 | 2 |
As of 2020, Curry resides in Jacksonville, Florida. [8]
Michael Rene Mularkey is an American former professional football coach and tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Florida, and was drafted in the ninth round of the 1983 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers and lasted until the final round of cuts. Mularkey then signed with the Minnesota Vikings with whom he played for six seasons before playing another three with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Mike Shula is an American football coach who is the Offensive Analyst for the South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He played college football as a quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was the school's head coach from 2003 to 2006. He was the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 1999, the Carolina Panthers from 2013 to 2017, and the New York Giants from 2018 to 2019.
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John Anthony Copeland is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the University of Alabama, was recognized as an All-American and was a member of a national championship team in 1992. He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the 1993 NFL draft, and he played his entire pro career for the Bengals.
Alvin Keith McCants was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Houston Oilers, and the Arizona Cardinals from 1990 to 1995. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, earning unanimous All-American honors in 1989. He was selected by Tampa Bay in the first round of the 1990 NFL draft with the fourth overall pick. After his playing career, he became a radio broadcaster.
Byron Charles Braggs is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Green Bay Packers (1981–1983) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1984).
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