Eric Metcalf

Eric Metcalf

No. 21, 22, 34, 82
Position:	Running back / wide receiver / return specialist
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1968-01-23) January 23, 1968
Place of birth:	Seattle, Washington
Height:
Weight:
Career information
College:	Texas
NFL draft:	1989 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13
Career history
Cleveland Browns (1989–1994) Atlanta Falcons (1995–1996) San Diego Chargers (1997) Arizona Cardinals (1998) Carolina Panthers (1999) Washington Redskins (2001) Green Bay Packers (2002)
Career highlights and awards
3× Pro Bowl selection (1993, 1994, 1997) 3× All-Pro selection (1993, 1994, 1997) NFL Kickoff Return Yards Leader (1990) NFL's second All-Time Punt Return Touchdown Leader (10)
Career NFL statistics
Return Touchdowns: 12 PR yards: 3,453 KR yards: 5,813 Player stats at NFL.com

Eric Quinn Metcalf (born January 23, 1968) is a former American football running back, wide receiver and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, San Diego Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection for the Browns and the Chargers. He was also the 1988 US Track and Field Champion in the long jump and a two-time NCAA Champion in the same event at the University of Texas at Austin.

High school career

Metcalf attended Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School in Arlington County, Virginia. In high school Metcalf competed in both football and track and field.

College career

Metcalf attended and played college football at the University of Texas at Austin where he was an All-Southwest Conference selection three times. He was the 1987 Southwest Conference player of the year and a second team All-American. He is the only player in Texas history to lead the team in all-purpose yards all four years. He holds every school receiving record for a running back.

Track and field

Metcalf also had a distinguished career in track and field. In high school, he was a standout long jumper and sprinter, and still has the seventh longest distance ever posted indoors by an American high schooler with a jump of 7.75 meters. He also recorded personal-bests of 10.54 seconds in the 100 meters and 21.34 in the 200 meters.

He set the University of Texas at Austin's long jump record (still current) at 8.44 m (27.7 ft). He won the NCAA National Long Jump Championship in 1986 and 1988 and the SWC Long Jump titles in 1986 and 1987. He was also the Us Jr. National Long Jump Champion in 1986 and 1987. He earned the distinction of being a five-time All-American and in 1988 competed in the USA Olympic Trials, finishing 8th overall.

Professional career

A multi-talented player, Metcalf excelled at offense and as a returner on special teams. In his second NFL season, he led the league in kickoff return yards (1,052) and return touchdowns (two). He also led the NFL in punt return touchdowns in four different seasons (1993–1995, 1997). Overall, Metcalf finished his career with 2,392 rushing yards, 541 receptions for 5,572 yards, 3,453 punt return yards, and 5,813 yards returning kickoffs. This gave him a total of 17,230 all-purpose yards, ranking him among the NFL's top 10 in that category at the time of his retirement. He also scored 55 touchdowns (12 rushing, 31 receiving, ten punt returns, two kickoff returns). His 12 returns for touchdowns are the third most in NFL history behind Devin Hester and Brian Mitchell. Metcalf's 10 punt return touchdowns were an NFL record, until October 2, 2011 when Devin Hester broke it against the Carolina Panthers. He is the only player ever to have 7,000+ yards on offense and 7,000+ yards on kickoff/punt returns.

Metcalf was traded along with two first round and one second round draft pick by the San Diego Chargers to the Arizona Cardinals for moving one spot in the 1998 NFL Draft to pick quarterback Ryan Leaf.

NFL stats

Receiving stats

Year	Team	Games	Receptions	Yards	Yards per Reception	Longest Reception	Touchdowns	First Downs	Fumbles	Fumbles Lost
1989	CLE	16	54	397	7.4	68	4	0	0	0
1990	CLE	16	57	452	7.9	35	1	0	0	0
1991	CLE	8	29	294	10.1	45	0	13	0	0
1992	CLE	16	47	614	13.1	69	5	25	2	1
1993	CLE	16	63	539	8.6	49	2	21	1	1
1994	CLE	16	47	436	9.3	57	3	21	2	2
1995	ATL	16	104	1,189	11.4	62	8	53	0	0
1996	ATL	16	54	599	11.1	67	6	33	0	0
1997	SD	16	40	576	14.4	62	2	24	1	1
1998	ARI	16	31	324	10.5	29	0	18	0	0
1999	CAR	16	11	133	12.1	33	0	6	0	0
2001	WSH	10	4	19	4.8	9	0	0	0	0
Career		179	541	5,572	10.3	69	31	214	6	5

Returning stats

Year	Team	Games	Punt Return Attempts	Punt Return Yards	Punts Returned for Touchdown	Punts Fair Caught	Longest Punt Return	Kickoff Return Attempts	Kickoff Return Yards	Kickoffs Returned for Touchdown	Kickoffs Fair Caught	Longest Kickoff Return
1989	CLE	16	0	0	0	0	0	31	718	0	0	49
1990	CLE	16	0	0	0	0	0	52	1,052	2	0	101
1991	CLE	8	12	100	0	1	30	23	351	0	0	24
1992	CLE	16	44	429	1	10	75	9	157	0	0	30
1993	CLE	16	36	464	2	11	91	15	318	0	0	47
1994	CLE	16	35	348	2	6	92	9	210	0	0	32
1995	ATL	16	39	383	1	14	66	12	278	0	0	47
1996	ATL	16	27	296	0	9	39	49	1,034	0	0	55
1997	SD	16	45	489	3	8	85	16	355	0	0	63
1998	ARI	16	43	295	0	7	24	57	1,218	0	0	59
1999	CAR	16	34	238	0	18	30	4	56	0	0	31
2001	WSH	10	33	412	1	5	89	1	25	0	0	25
2002	GB	1	3	-1	0	0	0	2	41	0	0	21
Career		179	351	3,453	10	89	92	280	5,813	2	0	101

Rushing stats

Year	Team	Games	Carries	Yards	Yards per Carry	Longest Carry	Touchdowns	First Downs	Fumbles	Fumbles Lost
1989	CLE	16	187	633	3.4	43	6	0	0	0
1990	CLE	16	80	248	3.1	17	1	0	0	0
1991	CLE	8	30	107	3.6	15	0	3	0	0
1992	CLE	16	73	301	4.1	31	1	12	1	1
1993	CLE	16	129	611	4.7	55	1	25	2	2
1994	CLE	16	93	329	3.5	37	2	12	1	0
1995	ATL	16	28	133	4.8	23	1	8	0	0
1996	ATL	16	3	8	2.7	4	0	0	0	0
1997	SD	16	3	-5	-1.7	2	0	0	0	0
1999	CAR	16	2	20	10.0	17	0	1	0	0
2002	GB	1	2	7	3.5	5	0	1	0	0
Career		179	630	2,392	3.8	55	12	62	4	3

Personal

Metcalf no longer coaches football at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, Washington, however in the 2005-2006 season he helped lead the team to the state semi-finals. He also started an elite high school track and field club called Seatown Express. Eric is the son of former NFL player Terry Metcalf.

External links

• Professional statistics