Dexter Coakley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, U.S.
| No. 52 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | October 20, 1972 Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Wando (Mount Pleasant) | ||||||||||||||||||
| College | Appalachian State (1993–1996) | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1997: 3rd round, 65th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||
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William Dexter Coakley (born October 20, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football in Division I-AA for the Appalachian State Mountaineers, and was selected in the third round of the 1997 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys. Coakley was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011, making him Appalachian State's first inductee.[1]
Coakley graduated from Wando High School, where he earned four letters in football. He was the team's Most Valuable Player twice and was twice named all-conference as a safety, after posting 295 tackles in his final two years.
Coakley was a running back and also lettered in wrestling.
College career
In order to meet academic requirements for College, Coakley attended Fork Union Military Academy's post-graduate program for one year, before accepting a scholarship to Appalachian State University.
While at Appalachian State University he grew bigger and was switched to linebacker, becoming the first two-time winner of the Buck Buchanan Awards, given each year to the nation's top Division I-AA defensive player. He was a critical part of the defense on the 1995 Mountaineer team that finished the season unbeaten and untied.[2]
Coakley was named All-American and Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore, junior and senior, becoming the first player ever to accomplish this feat. He was also the Southern Conference's Athlete of the Year as a junior and senior, marking just the seventh time in conference history that one individual had earned that distinction in consecutive years.[3]
His numerous accolades include being second all-time in tackles in Southern Conference history and breaking the all-time solo tackles (616) and sacks records at Appalachian State University, where his jersey number is retired. He earned a degree in communications and advertising.
In 2011, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the Southern Conference Hall of Fame.