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Danny Spradlin

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Danny Spradlin
No. 55
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1959-03-03) March 3, 1959 (age 65)
Maryville, Tennessee, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school:Maryville (TN)
College:Tennessee
NFL draft:1981 / round: 5 / pick: 137
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Sacks:1.0
Fumble recoveries:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Daniel Ray Spradlin (born March 3, 1959) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Cardinals. He was selected by the Cowboys in the fifth round of the 1981 NFL draft. He played college football at the University of Tennessee.

Early life

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Spraldin attended Maryville High School in Maryville, Tennessee.[1][2] He was a three-year starter at linebacker. He received All-State, All-South and Blount County Player of the Year honors as a junior and senior.

He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Tennessee.[3] As a sophomore, he earned a starting outside linebacker spot late in the season. As a junior, he finished second on the team with 102 tackles. As a senior, he led the team with 125 tackles, including a 12 tackle performance against Vanderbilt University.

Professional career

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Dallas Cowboys

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Spradlin was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round (137th overall) of the 1981 NFL draft.[4] His hard hitting allowed him to make the team over fellow rookie Scott Pelluer and the team also traded Bruce Huther to make room for him on the roster. He was a backup at middle linebacker for Bob Breunig.

In 2 seasons, he played in 25 games mostly on special teams, as he struggled learning the Cowboys flex defense.[1] In 1983, he was converted into an offensive lineman,[5] before being traded on August 24 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in exchange for a fifth round selection (#113-Steve Pelluer) in the 1984 NFL draft.[6]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Spradlin was acquired for depth purposes and to play on the special teams units. In 2 seasons, he played in 31 games, starting two in 1983 because of injuries.[1] He was released on August 26, 1985.[7]

St. Louis Cardinals

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On September 17, 1985, he was signed as a free agent by the St. Louis Cardinals.[8] He played in seven games during the season.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "DANNY SPRADLIN". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  2. ^ Johnson, Kent (May 6, 2020). "Blount County's best football players from 1960-1990". The Daily Times. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  3. ^ Calhoun, Caleb (May 4, 2022). "Ranking Tennessee football's previous 10 draft classes with five picks". All for Tennessee. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  4. ^ "1981 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  5. ^ Remnick, David (January 22, 1983). "Behind the Scenes: Even Cowboys Love Junk Food for Lunch FOCUS". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  6. ^ "1984 NFL Draft Pick Transactions". prosportstransactions.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  7. ^ "NFL TRANSACTIONS". The Washington Post. August 27, 1985. Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  8. ^ "Transactions". The New York Times. September 17, 1985. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
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