Randy Reutershan
American football player (born 1955)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Randy Reutershan (born June 30, 1955) is an American former professional football player who performed in a single season in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a member of teams that won a college football national championship and Super Bowl XIII over the Dallas Cowboys.
New York City, New York, U.S.
| No. 40 | |||||||||
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| Position | Wide receiver / Return specialist / Defensive back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | June 30, 1955 New York City, New York, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 182 lb (83 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Mahwah (Mahwah, New Jersey) | ||||||||
| College | Pittsburgh | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1978: 6th round, 160th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Early life
Reutershan was born in New York City to Warren and Doris Reutershan.[1] He attended Mahwah High School in Mahwah, New Jersey where he earned letters three years in football, basketball and track.[2]
Football career
Reutershan attended the University of Pittsburgh. In his junior season he was a wide receiver and special teams ace[2] on the Panthers team which won the national championship. He had 17 catches for 311 yards in his senior season at Pitt in 1977.[3] His tenacity as a special teams player, particularly his love of tackling on the coverage team, earned him the nickname "the Rat."[4] His college coach, Johnny Majors called Reutershan, "the most dynamic special teams performer I have ever seen."[5]
Reutershan was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round of the 1978 NFL draft. He made the team as a defensive back after switching back and forth from wide receiver during training camp.[6] He played in eleven games in his rookie season, contributing primarily on special teams. His season was cut short in mid-November by a single vehicle roll-over automobile accident that left him with severe head injuries for which he was hospitalized for a full month.[2][7] Although he would eventually recover from his injuries, he was advised to discontinue his professional football career.[8]
Reutershan returned to his alma mater, Pittsburgh, as a wide receivers coach under Jackie Sherrill in 1979.[9]