Quentin Coryatt

Quentin Coryatt
No. 55, 57
Position: Linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth: (1970-08-01) August 1, 1970
Place of birth: St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight: 250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school: Baytown (TX) Lee
College: Texas A&M
NFL draft: 1992 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1
Career history
Roster status: Retired
Career highlights and awards
  • College All-American (1991)
  • SWC Defensive Player of the Year (1991)
Career NFL statistics
Tackles: 442
Sacks: 8.5
Interceptions: 3
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Quentin John Coryatt (born August 1, 1970) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League who played for the Indianapolis Colts and the Dallas Cowboys between 1992 and 1999.

Early years

Coryatt attended Baytown Lee High School in Baytown, Texas. He accepted a football scholarship to attend Texas A&M University.

College career

At Texas A&M, Coryatt became the centerpiece of outstanding Aggies defensive units (nicknamed "Wrecking Crew"), along with players like Mark Wheeler, Marcus Buckley, Kevin Smith, Derrick Frazier, and Patrick Bates.

In his junior season, he gained notoriety in a nationally televised game in 1991 by knocking out Texas Christian University wide receiver Kyle McPherson with a ferocious hit on a pass over the middle, breaking McPherson's jaw in three places. ESPN named it the "Hit of the Year". In his junior season, the Aggie defense ranked first in the nation. He was selected second team All-American and all-SWC, and also was named the SWC Defensive Player of the Year. Coryatt elected to forgo his senior season and declare for the NFL Draft.[1]

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Entering the 1992 NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts owned the first two overall draft picks. After selecting defensive tackle Steve Emtman, the team chose Coryatt who was projected as the No. 1 linebacker in a draft that also included Robert Jones and Levon Kirkland.[2][3] It was the highest draft position for a Texas A&M player since John David Crow in 1958.

As a rookie he became the starter at inside linebacker in the team's 3-4 defense, recording 54 tackles, 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles, while playing in just seven games, after being placed on the injured reserve list with a broken left wrist he suffered against the Miami Dolphins.[4] The next year the team changed to a 4-3 defense and he was moved to middle linebacker, where he registered 150 tackles.

In 1994, Vince Tobin was hired as the new defensive coordinator and proceeded to move Coryatt to right outside linebacker, where he tallied 141 tackles. The next year he recorded 163 tackles (86 solo), 2.5 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries and his first career interception, while helping the team reach the AFC Championship Game.[5] He became a restricted free agent following the 1995 season and was signed to a $17.5 million offer sheet by the Jacksonville Jaguars, which the Colts ended up matching, ensuring he would remain with the team.[6]

He played just eight games in 1996, after tearing 20 percent of his left pectoral muscle and later in the season tearing his right pectoral muscle off the bone.[7] The next year he was limited with an injured left shoulder.

He was waived injured on August 31, 1998, and underwent reconstructive surgery on his left shoulder on September 30.[8]

Dallas Cowboys

After being out of football for a year, the Dallas Cowboys gambled that he could return from his injuries and signed him on April 17, 1999. He was expected to be the starter at strongside linebacker, but was slowed down by an Achilles injury suffered during a June minicamp. After not being able to overcome his injuries, he initially announced his retirement on September 14, but tried again to come back in December and played in 4 games (one start).[9]

Coryatt played in 82 games over a seven-year stretch in the NFL and although he was a solid contributor, injuries didn't allow him to live up to the stardom that was expected of him by virtue of his high draft status.

NFL stats

Year Team Games Combined Tackles Tackles Assisted Tackles Sacks Forced Fumbles Fumble Recoveries Fumble Return Yards Interceptions Interception Return Yards Yards per Interception Return Longest Interception Return Interceptions Returned for Touchdown Passes Defended
1992 IND 7 0 0 0 2.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1993 IND 16 140 103 37 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7
1994 IND 16 93 59 34 1.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
1995 IND 16 108 88 20 2.5 1 3 0 1 6 6 6 0 8
1996 IND 8 40 32 8 0.0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1997 IND 15 77 56 21 2.0 2 0 0 2 3 2 3 0 3
1999 DAL 4 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 82 459 339 120 8.5 4 7 0 3 9 3 6 0 22

[10]

References

  1. ↑ Texas A&M Athletics Quentin Coryatt and Four ´91 Wrecking Crew to be Honorary Game Captains
  2. ↑ Linebackers No Longer Jacks of All Trades
  3. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=860&dat=19920427&id=tm9UAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Uo8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5104,5806841&hl=en
  4. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19921029&id=ygAqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BM8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=2601,4373653&hl=en
  5. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19960110&id=hiddAAAAIBAJ&sjid=11oNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5479,1054206&hl=en
  6. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19960229&id=ot1OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=20oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6443,5301015&hl=en
  7. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/04/sports/pro-football-nfl-notebook-coryatt-resurfaces-as-a-starter-for-the-cowboys.html
  8. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19980901&id=6WxiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wHYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1344,1595148&hl=en
  9. ↑ http://lubbockonline.com/stories/120999/pro_120999059.shtml#.VZgIi3nbLIU
  10. ↑ "Quentin Coryatt Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
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