Kevin James Mawae is an American football coach and former professional player who is the head coach at Lipscomb Academy. He played as a center in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, most notably with the New York Jets. Mawae played college football at LSU, where he was a first-team All-SEC, and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 1994 NFL Draft. After joining the Jets in 1998, he received six consecutive Pro Bowl selections and five-first All-Pro honors during his eight seasons with the team. Mawae spent his final four seasons as a member of the Tennessee Titans, extending his Pro Bowl selections to eight and his first-team All-Pro honors to seven. Near the end of his career, he also served two terms as NFLPA president from 2008 to 2012.
Tim Lewis is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator for the Arlington Renegades of the XFL. He played college football for the University of Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft. Following a neck injury that cut his playing career short after four seasons, Lewis began serving as a coach in the collegiate and professional levels and obtained his first head coaching position with the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) in 2019. He also served as the defensive backs coach for the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL until the league folded in 2020.
Trevor Deshea Townsend is an American football coach and former cornerback who is the passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bears, New York Giants, Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals.
Adrian Nicholas Peterson is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) and United Football League (USFL). He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft, playing eight seasons for Chicago. Then he played for the Virginia Destroyers in the UFL. He is an alumnus of Georgia Southern University, where he set numerous school, conference, and NCAA Division I-AA records, as well winning two 1-AA National Championships and receiving the Walter Payton Award for most outstanding player in 1-AA football.
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by NFL Network. Having signed a contract with the Houston Texans on the evening before the draft, Mario Williams, a defensive end from North Carolina State, became the draft's first pick. The selection surprised many commentators, who predicted that the Texans would draft Southern California running back Reggie Bush or Texas quarterback Vince Young. Ohio State produced the most first round selections (five), while Southern California produced the most overall selections (eleven). Twenty-seven compensatory and supplemental compensatory selections were distributed amongst seventeen teams; Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and Tennessee each held three compensatory picks. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.
Charles Anthony Tillman, nicknamed "Peanut", is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and was selected by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft.
William Kyle Rote, Sr. was an American professional football player who was a running back and wide receiver for eleven years in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants. He was an All-American running back for the SMU Mustangs and was the first overall selection of the 1951 NFL Draft. Following his playing career, Rote was the Giants backfield coach and was a sports broadcaster for WNEW radio, NBC, and WNBC New York.
Donnell Woolford is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Chicago Bears. He was selected by the Bears in the first round of the 1989 NFL Draft. Woolford played 10 seasons for the Bears from 1989 to 1997, the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1997 to 1998 and Carolina Panthers from 1998-1999. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 1994. Woolford was surpassed by Charles Tillman for the most interceptions by a Bears cornerback, although Donnell achieved the goal 18 games faster than Tillman. Woolford was a graduate of Douglas Byrd High School in Fayetteville, NC and Clemson University.
Edward D. Hughes was an American football player and coach whose career spanned more than three decades. His most prominent coaching position came in 1971 when he served as head coach of the National Football League (NFL)'s Houston Oilers.
Walter Jerry Payton was an American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Chicago Bears. Nicknamed "Sweetness", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. A nine-time Pro Bowl selection, Payton is remembered as a prolific rusher, once holding records for career rushing yards, touchdowns, carries, yards from scrimmage, all-purpose yards, and many other categories. Payton also retired with the most receptions by a non-receiver, and he had eight career touchdown passes.
Hue Jackson is an American football coach who is the head football coach at Grambling State University. An offensive assistant at both the collegiate and professional levels, he held coordinator positions in the National Football League (NFL) with the Washington Redskins in 2003, the Atlanta Falcons in 2007, the Oakland Raiders in 2010, and the Cincinnati Bengals from 2014 to 2015. He also served as the head coach of the Raiders in 2011 and Cleveland Browns from 2016 to 2018. Jackson compiled a 3–36–1 record with the Browns, including a winless season in 2017, which is the worst record among coaches who presided over an NFL team for at least 40 games.
Johnny Earl Roland is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a running back for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1966 to 1972 and the New York Giants in 1973. Roland played college football for the Missouri Tigers, earning consensus All-American honors as a defensive back in 1965. After his playing days, he served as an assistant coach with the number of NFL teams and at the University of Notre Dame. Roland was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1998.
Lewis Glen Carpenter was an American football player and coach. He played college football for the University of Arkansas and professionally for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as a halfback and fullback with the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, and Green Bay Packers. He played on three NFL Championship teams, with Detroit in 1953 and with Green Bay in 1961 and 1962. After his playing career ended, Carpenter spent 31 years as an assistant coach in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings (1964–1966), Atlanta Falcons (1967–1968), Washington Redskins (1969), St. Louis Cardinals (1970–1972), Houston Oilers (1970–1974), Green Bay Packers (1975–1985), Detroit Lions (1987–1988), and Philadelphia Eagles (1990–1994). Carpenter also coached the Frankfurt Galaxy of the World League of American Football in 1996 and at Southwest Texas State University. He concluded his 47 years of playing and coaching football at the end of the 1996 season. Scientific tests on his brain diagnosed post-mortem that he had an advanced case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Eric Studesville is an American football coach who is the associate head coach and running backs coach for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Studesville is known as the former run game coordinator for the Buffalo Bills and interim head coach of the Denver Broncos, a position he held for four weeks in December 2010. He replaced Josh McDaniels after 12 games in the 2010 NFL Season, after which he resumed his primary role as running backs coach under head coaches John Fox, Gary Kubiak, and Vance Joseph from 2011–2017. He was the first African American head coach in Broncos history, albeit on an interim basis. Studesville has been to the Super Bowl twice, both as a member of the Broncos personnel, losing in 2014 and winning in 2016.
Jacquizz "Quizz" Rodgers is a former American football running back. He played college football at Oregon State, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
Darren Lewis, nicknamed "Tank", is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons in the early 1990s. He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies and was a consensus All-American. He was a sixth-round selection by the Chicago Bears in the 1991 NFL Draft.
Bruce Edward Daniels Jr. is a former professional American football quarterback. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft after playing college football at South Florida. He played quarterback for South Florida and the Seattle Seahawks, before moving to wide receiver in 2015. He won Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seahawks over the Denver Broncos. He is now an offensive analyst at the University of South Florida.
Walter Ring Nielsen was an American football fullback who played for the National Football League's (NFL) New York Giants during the 1940 season.
Tarik Cohen is an American football running back who is a free agent. Cohen played the same position for North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University before being selected in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
David Montgomery is an American football running back for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa State.
