Mike Utley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mike Utley | |
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| Date of birth: | December 20, 1965 |
| Place of birth: | Seattle, Washington |
| Career information | |
| Position(s): | Offensive linemen |
| College: | Washington State |
| NFL Draft: | 1989 / Round: 3/ Pick 59 |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1989-1991 | Detroit Lions |
| Career highlights and Awards | |
| Awards: | MVP of the Aloha Bowl in 1988 |
| Honors: | 1st Team All-American Honors for WSU |
| Stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
Michael "Mike" Utley (b. December 20, 1965) is a former American football player. He is known for being paralyzed during an NFL game.
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[edit] High school and college career
Utley was born in in Seattle, Washington and attended John F. Kennedy Memorial HS in Burien, Washington. He lettered in football and basketball, and served as captain on both teams. After high school, he attended Washington State University in 1984 on a football scholarship to play for the Cougars. In 1989 he led the Cougars to their most successful season since 1929 with a 9-3 record and their fourth ever post-season bowl bid, an Aloha Bowl invitation. The WSU Cougars won the Aloha Bowl with a win over the Houston Cougars (score 24-22). In that game Mike was named MVP. He became only the second player in WSU history to earn consensus first team All American honors.
[edit] NFL career
Utley was an offensive lineman with the Detroit Lions, picked in the third round of the 1989 NFL Draft. In his rookie year, Utley became the starting right guard for the Lions. He started the first five games, but was injured in the fifth game against the Minnesota Vikings. Utley was put on injured reserve for the rest of the year. In his second year, he fractured two ribs in the third preseason game. He was sidelined for the last preseason game and the first three regular season games. Utley came off the bench by playing in the second half of the next two games. He started in the sixth game, but dislocated his shoulder in the 3rd quarter. He finished the season playing only in the 2nd half for the rest of the season.
[edit] Paralysis
In his third year, Utley started every game and was the full time right guard until a paralysis injury forced him to retire. An injury to his sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae occurred in a game against the LA Rams on November 17, 1991. Although he would later learn he was largely paralyzed from the chest down[1], Utley flashed the crowd a "thumbs up" as he was being taken off the field. The thumbs up sign has become the symbol for the Mike Utley Foundation, a foundation created in 1991 by Utley and his agent Bruce Allen to help seek a cure for paralysis.
