Will Shields
Lawton (Lawton, Oklahoma) | |||||||
| College: | Nebraska | ||||||
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| NFL draft: | 1993 / Round: 3 / Pick: 74 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||
Will Herthie Shields (born September 15, 1971) is an American former professional
NFL 2000's All-Decade Team. He won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award in the 2003 season, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
in 2015.
Early years
Shields was born in
Lawton High School in Lawton, Oklahoma,[2] where he played for the Lawton Wolverines high school football team. As a junior in 1987, he and fellow juniors Dewell Brewer, Butch Huskey, Kelly Stinnett and James Trapp won an Oklahoma state championship.[3]
College career
While attending the
Aaron Taylor of Nebraska, Brad Budde of USC, Dean Steinkuhler of Nebraska and Jim Parker of Ohio State. Shields was one of six Nebraska Cornhuskers selected to this team; the others being Johnny Rodgers, Dave Rimington, Steinkuhler, Tommie Frazier
and Taylor.
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 2+1⁄4 in (1.89 m) |
304 lb (138 kg) |
34+3⁄8 in (0.87 m) |
10+3⁄8 in (0.26 m) |
5.21 s | 1.77 s | 2.99 s | 4.60 s | 26.0 in (0.66 m) |
8 ft 7 in (2.62 m) |
18 reps | ||
| All values from NFL Combine[4] | ||||||||||||
Shields was the third-round (74th overall) pick of the
offensive line
that consistently led the team to a top 5 finish in rushing offense.
Shields blocked for Marcus Allen, Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson during his career. He had blocked for 1,000-yard rushers for five seasons. He blocked for 4,000-yard passers for five seasons while Elvis Grbac did it in 2000 and Trent Green in 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 14 seasons, Shields never missed a game, and he failed to start only one contest, his first regular-season outing, as a rookie in 1993.[9] On April 15, 2007, following 14 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, he announced his retirement from football.[9]
Life after football
Shields currently works for NFL Legends as Community Central South Director. Shields is married to his wife Senia (a native of
Stillwell, Kansas. Shavon played basketball for the University of Nebraska and currently plays professionally in Italy for Olimpia Milano, while Sanayika is a former basketball player for Drury University who is now an Emergency Medicine/Pediatrics Resident at Indiana University
. Solomon is starting his film career writing and directing documentaries.
Honors
- In 2003 Shields was the recipient of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, for his work in The "Will to Succeed" Foundation, the charitable organization he started in 1993.
- In 2011, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
- Shields was selected as a first-ballot finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012.[11]
- In 2012 Shields was inducted into the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame.[12]
- Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
References
- ^ National Football League, Historical Players, Will Shields. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ^ databaseFootball.com, Players, Will Shields Archived March 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ^ Hersom, Bob (May 8, 2006). "Stinnett proud of pinstripes Ex-Lawton QB is backup for Yanks". The Oklahoman. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
- ^ "Will Shields, Combine Results, OG - Nebraska". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ^ "1993 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ^ "» Vikings executive Kevin Warren has ties with five hall of fame enshrinees". TwinCities.com. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Will Shields. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ^ "Mind-blowing stats for the 2013 Pro Bowl". National Football League. January 24, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ a b Len Pasquarelli, "Chiefs guard Shields, a twelve-time Pro Bowler, retires," ESPN.com, (April 16, 2007). Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ^ Palmer, Tod. "Mother's heritage provides opportunity for Sanayika Shields with Danish national team". Kansas City Star.
- ^ Pro Football Hall of Fame, Hall of Famers, More Lists, Yearly Finalists. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ^ "Will Shields to be inducted into Chiefs Hall of Fame". KCTV-TV via website. March 3, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2012.