Saturday, October 6, 2012

Michael Irvin The Playmaker

Michael Irvin The Playmaker, Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is a former American football player for the Dallas Cowboys, and actor. He is also a former broadcaster for ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown and currently an analyst for NFL Network.

Irvin was self-nicknamed “The Playmaker” due to his penchant for making big plays in big games during his college career. He played college football at the University of Miami. In 2007, he was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Irvin is also known as one of “The Triplets” along with Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith. The Triplets highlighted the Dallas Cowboys’ offense in the 1990s that won three Super Bowls.

He competed in season 9 of Dancing with the Stars. Irvin was the 9th contestant to be eliminated.

The 15th of 17 siblings, Irvin was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He first attended Piper High School then went on to become a football star at St. Thomas Aquinas High School and was heavily recruited by the University of Miami, one of the top collegiate football programs in the nation.

With the University of Miami, under coach Jimmy Johnson, Irvin set school records for career receptions (143), receiving yards (2,423 – later broken by Santana Moss) and touchdown receptions (26). He was part of Miami’s 1987 National Championship team, and made one of the most legendary plays in school history that year, scoring on a 73-yard fourth quarter touchdown pass from Steve Walsh that provided the margin of victory in Miami’s triumph over archrival Florida State, which propelled them into the National Championship Game against the top ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the Orange Bowl.

Even at the time, Irvin was known for his exuberance, best displayed by his routine practice of pointing to the sky with both hands after scoring touchdowns. Critics referred to the move as hot-dogging, though Irvin responded that the gesture was a tribute to his late father. Before a game, his mother would tell him “Say a little prayer, and ask God to be with you…Then go get ‘em.” Irvin retired the celebration after forgoing his final year of eligibility to declare for the 1988 NFL Draft.

Since leaving the University of Miami, Irvin has remained a staunch supporter of the Hurricanes’ football program, often seen on the Miami sideline during big games and giving tutorials to receivers. He has also acted as a mentor off the field to younger Hurricane players over the years.

Irvin was interviewed about his time at the University of Miami for the documentary The U, which premiered December 12, 2009 on ESPN.

Michael was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
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