Jeff Herrod
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
| No. 54 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | July 29, 1966 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 249 lb (113 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Banks (Birmingham) | ||||||||
| College | Ole Miss | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1988: 9th round, 243rd overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Jeff Sylvester Herrod (born July 29, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles. He was selected by the Colts in the ninth round of the 1988 NFL draft. He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels.
Herrod grew up in a housing project in Birmingham, Alabama. He had to walk two miles to play in a youth football league that didn't charge a fee, and initially had to make do with hand-me-down shoulder pads that he found in a dumpster behind a community center.[1]
College career
Herrod initially planned to enlist in the United States Marine Corps after graduating from Banks High School, but decided instead to play at Ole Miss under head coach Billy Brewer, the only Division I program to offer him a scholarship.[1][2]
In four years in Oxford, Herrod became one of the greatest defensive players in Southeastern Conference history. A four-year starter, Herrod set school records for tackles in a single game (28) and in a season (128). He was a first-team All-SEC selection in 1986, and was named a second-team All-American by The Associated Press in 1986 and 1987. His 528 tackles are still the most in Ole Miss history, and is second on the SEC's all-time tackles list behind only Tennessee's Andy Spiva. He was named to the Ole Miss Team of the Century in 1993, and was selected as an SEC Football Legend in 2013.[3] He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2017[4] and was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in July 2023.[2]