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 | |||||||
As a player: | |||||||
As a coach: | |||||||
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Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Lorenzo Levon Kirkland (born February 17, 1969) is an American former football player who was a linebacker for 11 years in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A two-time All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowl selection with the Steelers, he was named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team.
Kirkland played college football for the Clemson Tigers, earning consensus All-American honors in 1991. Selected by Pittsburgh in the second round of the 1992 NFL draft, he played nine seasons with the Steelers, and one each for the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles.[1] After his playing career, Kirkland was a linebackers coach for two seasons for the Florida A&M Rattlers.
Professional career
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 ft 0+3⁄8 in (1.84 m) |
240 lb (109 kg) |
32+1⁄2 in (0.83 m) |
8+1⁄2 in (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 from NFL 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 Bowler David Little.
On August 14, 1995, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Kirkland to a four-year, $6 million contract that included a signing bonus of $900,000.[3]
By
That game and his outstanding
Kirkland made the Pro Bowl after the
In a surprise move, the Steelers waived Kirkland just before the
NFL career statistics
General | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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
In 1996, Kirkland was named to Clemson 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 his sociology degree 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 in Greenville, South Carolina.[5] In March 2013, Kirkland accepted a job coaching linebackers at Florida A&M University.[6]
Personal life
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 the Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, and New York Jets.[8] His uncle Lamont Kirkland was a light heavyweight professional boxer.[9]
See also
- Most consecutive starts by an inside linebacker
References
- "Hall of Famer". Clemson World. Spring 2008. p. 7.
- ^ "1992 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
- ^ "1992 NFL Combine Results". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ "N.F.L. Training Camp Report". The New York Times. August 16, 1995. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ "Levon Kirkland Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
- ^ a b "Upstate School Names NFL All-Pro Linebacker As Head Football Coach". WYFF4.com. November 15, 2011. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
- ^ a b Field, Carla (October 30, 2013). "Keisha Kirkland loses battle with cancer". WYFF4.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
- ^ "L. Levon Kirkland Bio". famuathletics.com. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ Musselman, Ron (September 15, 2011). "Lineman Still enjoys being disruptive force on defense". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
- ^ "Lamont Kirkland boxer".