Mike Mamula

Last updated

Mike Mamula
No. 59
Position: Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1973-08-14) August 14, 1973 (age 50)
Lackawanna, New York, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:252 lb (114 kg)
Career information
High school: Lackawanna
College: Boston College
NFL draft: 1995  / Round: 1 / Pick: 7
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:206
Sacks:31.5
Forced fumbles:8
Fumble recoveries:5
Interceptions:1
Defensive touchdowns:2

Michael Brian Mamula (born August 14, 1973) is an American former professional football player for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round (seventh overall) of the 1995 NFL draft. He played college football for the Boston College Eagles.

Contents

College career

Mamula played college football for the Boston College Eagles. He redshirted in 1991 and then hurt a shoulder at the beginning of the 1992 season, although he played through it. In 1993, as a junior, Mamula had 84 tackles and 11 sacks as a rush-backer in a 3-4 defense for Boston College. Mamula added another sack in the Carquest Bowl, bringing his season total to twelve. In 1994, his senior year they switched to a 4-3 defense and Mamula was a right defensive end. From that position he had 73 tackles and 13 sacks and four more in the team's 12-7 Aloha Bowl win over Kansas State University, bringing his season total to 17 sacks. For his efforts, he was voted All-Big East.

Professional career

Mamula was one of the first players to train specifically for the combine drills, performing each drill hundreds of times in the months leading up to the combine. Although that practice is prevalent today, in 1995 most players performed football drills and paid less attention to the specific drills measured at the combine. [1] Mamula had 26 reps of 225 lb bench presses, which was more reps than the top tackle taken in the draft (Tony Boselli), and his 4.58 40-yard dash time was considered extremely fast for his position. [2] He scored a 49 out of 50 in the Wonderlic Test, which is the second highest score ever recorded by an NFL player. [3] In addition he also had a 38.5" vertical jump, higher than cornerback Jimmy Hitchcock. [4]

Mamula also performed the Four-Square run in 7.82#. (The pound sign "#" is to not to be confused with the 3-cone drill, which is now in use at the NFL Combine. The Four-Square drill was the drill used in that era.) Mamula's 7.82 second drill was only 0.03 second off the best time (7.79#) posted at that combine. Additionally, Mamula posted a standing broad jump of 10'-5" inches and a 20-yard shuttle of 4.03 seconds. Of the 300 players at the combine regardless of position, the fastest 40 was 4.42, the best vertical jump was 41½, the best standing broad jump was 10'-11", the best 20-yard shuttle was 3.90, the best 4-square was 7.79 and the best bench press was 37 reps. [5]

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press Wonderlic
6 ft 4+5⁄8 in
(1.95 m)		248 lb
(112 kg)		33+1⁄8 in
(0.84 m)		10+1⁄4 in
(0.26 m)		4.58 s1.62 s2.74 s4.03 s38+1⁄2 in
(0.98 m)		10 ft 5 in
(3.18 m)		26 reps49
All values from NFL Combine [6] [5] [7]

The Philadelphia Eagles traded their first-round draft pick (12th overall), and two second-round selections to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for Tampa Bay's first-round draft pick (7th overall) and a third-round selection. All picks involved in this trade were in the 1995 NFL draft. The Eagles then selected Mamula, apparently hoping he would fill the void left by Reggie White two years earlier. The Buccaneers went on to draft Warren Sapp with the 12th pick, and traded the pair of second-round picks for the 28th overall pick in the same draft, which they used to get Derrick Brooks. [8]

During a 77 game career with the Eagles, Mamula had 209 total tackles and 31.5 sacks. His best seasons were 1996 and 1999. In 1996, he logged 8 sacks and in 1999 he had 8½, after recovering from missing the entire 1998 season. He also picked off a pass from Kurt Warner and returned it for a touchdown in the last game of the 1999 season. He was forced to retire after the 2000 season due to injuries. Mamula was inducted into Boston College's Sports Hall of Fame.

Because Mamula's subsequent NFL career did not track with projections extrapolated based upon his top combine showing, he is often pejoratively referred to as a "Workout Warrior" and his name is frequently invoked when players go into the combine as relative unknowns and come out as hot properties. [9] [10] Michael David Smith wrote an article for The New York Times in 2008 refuting these characterizations, noting that scouts were impressed with Mamula's play while he was at BC and arguing that Mamula had an underrated career.

NFL statistics

YearTeamGPCOMBTOTALASTSckFFFR
1995 PHI 14403285.511
1996 PHI 165241118.032
1997 PHI 165234184.010
1999 PHI 163927128.532
2000 PHI 15231855.500
Career772061525431.585

[11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Collins (American football)</span> American football player (born 1989)

Jamie Lee Collins Sr. is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and was selected by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft. As a member of the Patriots for seven non-consecutive seasons, Collins earned Pro Bowl honors in 2015 when he led the league in forced fumbles. Collins also won a Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XLIX. Outside of his New England tenure, he played three seasons with the Cleveland Browns and two with the Detroit Lions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myles Jack</span> American football player (born 1995)

Myles David Jack is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was named the top freshman player in the Pac-12, receiving honors both on defense as well as on offense for his work as a running back and was named an All-Pac-12 linebacker twice. In 2015, Jack dropped out of UCLA and declared for the draft after suffering a season-ending knee injury. Jack was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Along with his mother LaSonjia Jack, he is the current owner of the ECHL Allen Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benardrick McKinney</span> American football player (born 1992)

Benardrick Cornelius McKinney is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs and was selected by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Floyd</span> American football player (born 1992)

Leonard Cornilus Floyd is an American football defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia and was selected by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darron Lee</span> American football player (born 1994)

Darron Lee is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Ohio State and was selected by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He was also a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, and Las Vegas Raiders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Sweat</span> American football player (born 1997)

Josh Sweat is an American football defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Jenkins</span> American football player (born 1994)

Jordan Montae Jenkins is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. He played college football at Georgia, and was drafted by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deion Jones</span> American football player (born 1994)

Deion Jones is an American football linebacker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU, and was selected by Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Harris (American football)</span> American football player (born 1995)

Charles Harris is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. He played college football at Missouri and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orlando Brown (American football, born 1996)</span> American football player (born 1996)

Orlando Claude Brown Jr. is an American football offensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma, and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft. Brown is the son of offensive tackle Orlando Brown, who also played for the Ravens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solomon Thomas</span> American football player (born 1995)

Solomon Christopher Thomas is an American football defensive tackle for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stanford and was drafted third overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2017 NFL Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haason Reddick</span> American football player (born 1994)

Haason Samir Reddick is an American football linebacker for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple, and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft. He has also played for the Carolina Panthers and the Philadelphia Eagles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Johnson (safety)</span> American football player (born 1995)

John Johnson III is an American football safety who is a free agent. He played college football at Boston College, and was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft. He has also played for the Cleveland Browns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlton Davis</span> American football player (born 1996)

Carlton Davis III is an American football cornerback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Auburn and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrison Phillips</span> American football player (born 1996)

Harrison Foster Phillips is an American football nose tackle for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stanford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Reid</span> American football player (born 1997)

Justin Quintin Reid is an American football safety for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stanford. He previously played in the NFL for the Houston Texans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrell Edmunds</span> American football player (born 1997)

FeDerius Terrell Edmunds is an American football safety for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorenzo Carter (American football)</span> American football player (born 1995)

Lorenzo Lemuel Carter is an American football linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, and was selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandon Parker</span> American football player (born 1995)

Brandon Malik Parker is an American football offensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina A&T before being selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nolan Smith (American football)</span> American football player (born 2001)

Nolan Sental Smith Jr. is an American football linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a two-time CFP national champion before being selected by the Eagles in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.

References

  1. ↑ Yasinskas, Pat (February 19, 2008). "Combine star Mamula was burdened by high expectations". ESPN . Retrieved March 4, 2011.
  2. ↑ King, Peter. (March 5, 2007).In Search Of An Edge Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
  3. ↑ Kotala, Carl (April 16, 2006). "USATODAY.com - Wonderlic reaches well beyond NFL". www.usatoday.com. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
  4. ↑ Vega, Michael (April 16, 1995). "No stopping Mamula now His performance at NFL combine jumped him right into draft picture". Boston Globe.
  5. 1 2 McGinn, Bob (April 19, 1995) "Pass rushers are at a premium" Milwaukee Sentinel. Retrieved=2009-04-29
  6. ↑ "Mike Mamula, Combine Results, DE - Boston College". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  7. ↑ Vega, Michael (April 16, 1995)."NO STOPPING MAMULA NOW HIS PERFORMANCE AT NFL COMBINE JUMPED HIM RIGHT INTO DRAFT PICTURE" Boston Globe. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
  8. ↑ "1995 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  9. ↑ David Schoenfield, Page 2: The 100 worst draft picks ever, ESPN.com, April 26, 2006
  10. ↑ "Monday Morning QB (cont.)". CNN. March 27, 2005. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Mike Mamula Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.