Levon Kirkland
No. 99, 93 | |||||||||||||
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Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Born: | Lamar, South Carolina,U.S. | February 17, 1969||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
Weight: | 275 lb (125 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
High school: | Lamar | ||||||||||||
College: | Clemson | ||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 1992/ Round: 2 / Pick: 38 | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
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As a coach: | |||||||||||||
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Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Player stats atPFR |
Lorenzo Levon Kirkland(born February 17, 1969) is an American formerfootballplayer who was alinebackerfor 11 years in theNational Football League(NFL), primarily for thePittsburgh Steelers.A two-timeAll-Proand two-timePro Bowlselection with the Steelers, he was named to theNFL 1990s All-Decade Team.
Kirkland playedcollege footballfor theClemson Tigers,earning consensusAll-Americanhonors in 1991. Selected by Pittsburgh in the second round of the1992 NFL draft,he played nine seasons with the Steelers, and one each for theSeattle Seahawksand thePhiladelphia Eagles.[1]After his playing career, Kirkland was a linebackers coach for two seasons for theFlorida A&M Rattlers.
Professional career
[edit]Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft0+3⁄8in (1.84 m) |
240 lb (109 kg) |
32+1⁄2in (0.83 m) |
8+1⁄2in (0.22 m) |
4.92 s | 1.75 s | 2.91 s | 4.13 s | 32.5 in (0.83 m) |
9 ft 8 in (2.95 m) |
20 reps | ||
All values fromNFL Combine[2] |
Kirkland was a massive inside linebacker, just 6'1 "but weighing anywhere from 275-300 pounds during his career. Despite his size, he had great speed and agility. He became a starter at inside linebacker for the Steelers in his second season,1993,replacing Pro BowlerDavid Little.
On August 14, 1995, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Kirkland to a four-year,$6 million contract that included asigning bonusof $900,000.[3]
By1995,he was recognized as one of the top inside linebackers in the league, and had a stellar performance inSuper Bowl XXXagainst theDallas Cowboysat the end of the season. In that game, the Steelers defense held the Cowboys to just 15first downsandEmmitt Smithand the Cowboys powerful running attack to just 56 yards, despite losing 27–17 in large part due to two keyinterceptionsthrown by SteelersquarterbackNeil O'Donnell.Kirkland had 10tacklesand a keysackof Dallas quarterbackTroy Aikman.
That game and his outstanding1996season earned Kirkland his first trip to thePro BowlandAll-Prohonors after the 1996 season. The Steelers had lost their emotional leader, outside linebackerGreg Lloyd,at the start of the season to a knee injury, but Kirkland took over the mantle of leadership. He also took over Lloyd's role in pass coverage as the only linebacker in the Steelersnickel defense.Opponents thought Kirkland would not be as adept in pass coverage as the fast Lloyd, but they quickly found out that Kirkland was just as fast and quick. He had four interceptions that season, a high number for an inside linebacker, to go along with four sacks and 114 tackles.
Kirkland made the Pro Bowl after the1997season as well, making a career-high and team-leading 126 tackles and career-high five sacks, as the Steelers went to theAFC Championshipgame (losing to theDenver Broncos). Although Kirkland played well in the next three seasons (1998–2000), the Steelers struggled on offense, and failed to make the playoffs, and Kirkland did not earn any more Pro Bowl berths despite his strong play.
In a surprise move, the Steelers waived Kirkland just before the2001season due tosalary cappressure[citation needed].That year many star players were waived due to the salary cap includingJohn Randle,Troy Aikman,andJerry Rice.Kirkland went to the Seattle Seahawks where he became a leader on the defense and had over 100 tackles. The next year, he played his final season for the Eagles, becoming the veteran leader of a defense that ranked seventh in the league and advanced to theNFC Championshipgame before losing to theBuccaneers.
NFL career statistics
[edit]General | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||||||
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Year | Team | GP | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sack | FF | FR | Yds | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | |
1993 | PIT | 16 | 75 | 59 | 16 | 1.0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
1994 | PIT | 16 | 101 | 70 | 31 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
1995 | PIT | 16 | 88 | 58 | 30 | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
1996 | PIT | 16 | 113 | 75 | 38 | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 8 | |
1997 | PIT | 16 | 125 | 94 | 31 | 5.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 7 | |
1998 | PIT | 16 | 113 | 75 | 38 | 2.5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 15 | |
1999 | PIT | 16 | 107 | 86 | 21 | 2.0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 6 | |
2000 | PIT | 16 | 86 | 65 | 21 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
2001 | SEA | 16 | 100 | 79 | 21 | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
2002 | PHI | 16 | 74 | 53 | 21 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
Career[4] | 160 | 982 | 714 | 268 | 19.5 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 51 | 5 | 23 | 0 | 62 |
Post-NFL
[edit]In 1996, Kirkland was named toClemson University's All-Centennial team and was inducted into the University's Hall of Fame in 2001. After retiring from the NFL, he returned to Clemson and earned hissociologydegree in 2004 and worked for Clemson coordinating minority recruitment in admissions for the university. He was inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.[5]Kirkland also educates student-athletes across the country on the college recruiting process as an Educational Speaker for the National Collegiate Scouting Association.
After coaching linebackers for Wade Hampton High School in Greenville, South Carolina in 2009,Kirkland worked as the assistant head coach at Woodmont High School in South Carolina until November 2011 when he was named the head coach for Shannon Forest Christian School inGreenville, South Carolina.[5]In March 2013, Kirkland accepted a job coaching linebackers atFlorida A&M University.[6]
Personal life
[edit]Kirkland's wife, Keisha, with whom he has a daughter, Kennedy, died in October 2013 due to lung cancer.[6]He also has a son named Zach.[7]
Kirkland's cousin,Devon Still,played in the NFL with theCincinnati Bengals,Houston Texans,andNew York Jets.[8]His uncle Lamont Kirkland was a light heavyweight professional boxer.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- "Hall of Famer".Clemson World.Spring 2008. p. 7.
- ^"1992 NFL Draft Listing".Pro-Football-Reference.com.RetrievedMay 7,2023.
- ^"1992 NFL Combine Results".nflcombineresults.com.RetrievedSeptember 22,2018.
- ^"N.F.L. Training Camp Report".The New York Times.August 16, 1995.RetrievedSeptember 22,2018.
- ^"Levon Kirkland Stats".ESPN Internet Ventures.RetrievedJune 6,2014.
- ^ab"Upstate School Names NFL All-Pro Linebacker As Head Football Coach".WYFF4.com.November 15, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon November 1, 2013.RetrievedOctober 31,2013.
- ^abField, Carla (October 30, 2013)."Keisha Kirkland loses battle with cancer".WYFF4.com.Archivedfrom the original on November 1, 2013.RetrievedOctober 31,2013.
- ^"L. Levon Kirkland Bio".famuathletics.com.RetrievedMay 20,2019.
- ^Musselman, Ron (September 15, 2011)."Lineman Still enjoys being disruptive force on defense".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Archivedfrom the original on July 9, 2019.RetrievedOctober 31,2013.
- ^"Lamont Kirkland boxer".
- 1969 births
- Living people
- All-American college football players
- American Conference Pro Bowl players
- American football middle linebackers
- Clemson Tigers football players
- People from Lamar, South Carolina
- Philadelphia Eagles players
- Pittsburgh Steelers players
- Seattle Seahawks players
- Players of American football from South Carolina