Kevin Greene

  In 1984, his final season of football at Auburn University, Greene led the Southeastern Conference in quarterback sacks with 11 and received the Zeke Smith Award, given annually to Auburn’s top defensive performer. 

        Incredibly, Greene’s football career at Auburn included more seasons spent playing intramural football with the school’s Army ROTC team than playing for coach Pat Dye’s Tigers. Following his graduation from Granite City (Illinois) High School in 1980, Green entered Auburn as a student, not as a student-athlete. He enrolled in Auburn’s Army ROTC program.

    Greene played three years of intramural football. Then, in 1983, he walked on for Dye and played special teams for the 1983 SEC championship team. He earned his 11 sacks in 1984 despite the fact that he wasn’t a starter on defense until the final four games of the season.   

       When the1984 season ended, Greene asked Dye if Dye thought he had the potential to play in the National Football League. Dye responded positively. In the 1985 NFL draft, Greene was a fifth round draft pick of the Los Angeles Rams, the 113th pick overall. During his 15-year career in the NFL, he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Carolina Panthers and the San Francisco 49ers in addition to the Rams.

    Greene retired as an NFL player following the 1999 season. When he retired, his 160 total sacks ranked third all time, trailing only Bruce Smith and Reggie White. He totaled at least 10 sacks in seven of his final eight seasons, missing only in 1995 when his nine sacks were best for Pittsburgh. He led the NFL in total sacks in 1994 and 1996, was chosen for the Pro Bowl five times and was named an All-Pro in 1989, 1994 and 1996.   

     The NFL Players Association named Greene the AFC linebacker of the year in 1994. He was UPI defensive player of the year in 1996. In 1997, Greene was the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s professional athlete of the year.  

      Following his retirement, Greene was chosen for the NFL’s 1990’s All-Decade team. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.