Eight-man football is a form of gridiron football, generally played by high schools with smaller enrollments. Eight-man football differs from the traditional 11-man game with the reduction of three players on each side of the ball and a field width that can be reduced to 40 yards, 13 1/3 yards narrower than the 53 1/3-yard 11-man field. Most states continue to play on a field 100 yards long, whereas a few states opt for 80-yard lengths. Reduced-player football, which consists of eight-man, six-man, and nine-man football has gained popularity across the United States. As of 2015, 1,561 schools in 30 states sponsor reduced-player football, with 1,161 of those teams participating in eight-man leagues, whereas 284 teams play six-man football and 116 teams play nine-man football.
John Daniel Matuszak, nicknamed "Tooz", was an American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) who later became an actor.
Christopher Michael Draft is a former American football linebacker. He previously played for the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, St. Louis Rams, and Buffalo Bills. Draft played college football at Stanford University.
Broderick Lee Thomas is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, earning unanimous All-American honors in 1988.
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitutions", meaning that they may change any number of players during any "dead ball" situation. This has resulted in the development of three task-specific "platoons" of players within any single team: the offense, the defense, and "special teams". Within these three separate "platoons", various positions exist depending on the jobs that the players are doing.
Akinola James Ayodele is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and Buffalo Bills. He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2002 NFL draft. He played college football at Coffeyville Community College and Purdue.
Phillip Dale Lindsey is an American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at the University of San Diego. Lindsey has also worked as a coach in the National Football League (NFL), the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the United States Football League (USFL).
Nicholas Gregory Reid is a former American football linebacker who played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks. He signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Chiefs on May 2, 2006. In February 2007, Reid was re-signed by the Chiefs to a two-year contract. Later that month Reid was assigned by the Chiefs to the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europa.
Alvin Nnabuife is an American football player who has played at the linebacker, safety and cornerback positions for the SMU Mustangs, the Green Bay Packers (2006), and the Cologne Centurions (2007). He holds the NCAA record for most fumbles returned for a touchdown in a single game, having returned two fumbles for touchdowns in a single quarter in 2003.
Percy Lee Snow is an American former football linebacker. He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans from 1986 to 1989. As a senior, he was a consensus All-American and won both the Butkus Award and the Lombardi Award. He was a first-round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs and played three seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
Bobby Reid is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Texas Southern University and Oklahoma State University. Reid played high school football at Galena Park North Shore High School in Houston, where he led his team to the Class 5A Division I Championship his senior year. He was named Houston Touchdown Club's Offensive Player of the Year, and was named the all-Greater Houston, all-district and the district's Most Valuable Player.
Donald Dee Shinnick was an American football player and coach. He played professionally as a linebacker for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts. He had 37 career interceptions with the Colts, still an NFL record for a linebacker. Shinnick played college football as a fullback and linebacker University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Christopher E. Bordano is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. He played college football at Southern Methodist University.
Richard James Kempthorn was an American collegiate athlete, Air Force pilot, and businessman from Canton, Ohio, US. He played college football on the undefeated national champion 1947 and 1948 Michigan Wolverines football teams and was the Most Valuable Player on the 1949 team. He later served as a jet fighter pilot in the Korean War where he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. He turned down an opportunity to play professional football to join his father in the automobile business. Over the next 50 years, Kempthorn built a series of automobile dealerships in Canton, Ohio.
Paul Dawson is an American professional football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft.
Barry Stephen Odom is an American football coach and currently the head coach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Odom previously spent 15 years with the University of Missouri football program as a player, recruiter, assistant coach, and head coach.
Matthew Charles Eberflus is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts from 2018 to 2021. He previously worked as the linebacker coach for the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys, and has coached at Toledo and Missouri.
Kevin Kane is an American football coach and former linebacker, who is the current defensive coordinator for the Purdue Boilermakers. He played college football at Kansas from 2002 to 2005. He served as the defensive coordinator of the Northern Illinois Huskies (2016–2017) and SMU Mustangs (2018–2020).
Colin Schooler is an American football linebacker for the Firenze Guelfi of the Italian Football League (IFL). He went to Texas Tech University, where he played for the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team after his tenure as an anchor on defense at the University of Arizona.
Danny Gray is an American professional football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Blinn and SMU before being drafted by the 49ers in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.
