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= George Floyd (American football) =
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Introduction
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George Floyd Jr. (born December 21, 1960) is an American former
professional football player who was a defensive back for two seasons
with the New York Jets in the National Football League. Growing up in
Brooksville, Florida, Floyd attended Hernando High School, where he
was selected for 'The Tampa Tribune' all-area football team in all
three of his varsity years. Floyd played college football for the
Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) Colonels, and won the 1979 National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-AA football
championship.
Over his collegiate career, Floyd won numerous awards, including Ohio
Valley Conference (OVC) Athlete of the Year after the 1981 regular
season, an award given to the best male overall athlete in the
conference regardless of sport. Kodak and Associated Press named Floyd
to their All-America teams in 1980 and 1981, honors given annually to
the best college football players in the United States at their
respective positions.
Selected by the New York Jets in the 1982 NFL draft, Floyd appeared in
ten games during the team's 1982 season, including three playoff
games. After missing the 1983 season because of a knee injury, he
appeared in eight games during the 1984 season before retiring because
of another knee injury during the 1985 NFL preseason, where teams
played exhibition games before their regular seasons began.
Floyd is the joint holder of five records at EKU . He was inducted
into the College Football Hall of Fame and the halls of fame of EKU
and Hernando High School. In 2009, EKU named Floyd to their
All-Century team, composed of the best football players in the EKU
history for its first hundred years.
Early life
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George Floyd Jr. was born on December 21, 1960, in Tampa, and grew up
in Brooksville, both in Florida. He attended the Hernando High School
and played football and basketball for the Hernando high school team,
nicknamed the Leopards. In Floyd's sophomore season, Hernando finished
as Gulf Coast Conference (GSS) football champions. After Floyd's
sophomore, junior, and senior years, 'The Tampa Tribune' (the
'Tribune') named him to their all-area football team. With the
accomplishment, Floyd became the first player of any high school named
to the 'Tribune' team during all three varsity seasons. He was
selected for the GSS All-Star team, an honorific team composed of the
best football players in the conference, after his sophomore and
junior years.
Floyd finished his senior season in 1977 with nine total
interceptions, which established a school record that stood for four
years. The Florida Sports Writers Association named Floyd to their
second-team Class 3A all-state squad in January 1978. He served as
captain of the Leopards' defensive unit each year he played for
Hernando. In 2011, Floyd was inducted into Hernando High School's Hall
of Fame. He wanted to play college football for the University of
Georgia as a high school senior, but instead attended Eastern Kentucky
University (EKU) of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).
Collegiate career
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Floyd's first start with the EKU Colonels came as a freshman against
the Murray State Racers at roverback, where he led the defense with
twelve tackles. For the performance, he was named an honorable mention
for OVC Defensive Player of the Week (DPOW). He finished the season
with twenty-six tackles, eighth most on the team, with four tackles
for loss (TFLs) and one fumble recovery as the Colonels finished with
an 8-2 record. The team's eight wins tied a school record for most
wins in a season.
In Floyd's sophomore year, he had a three-interception game against
Austin Peay in a 35-10 EKU victory in September. Against Jackson State
in November, he had sixteen tackles, one interception and one fumble
recovery. The Colonels finished with an 11-2 record and defeated the
Lehigh Engineers 30-7 to win the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA football
championship, the first in EKU's history. After the season, head
football coaches in the conference named him to the second-team
All-OVC, composed of the second-best players at every position in the
conference. Floyd led the OVC with thirteen punt returns and seven
interceptions. He started every game, his sixty-eight tackles were
fourth-most on the Colonels and he led the team with four fumble
recoveries.
Before the 1980 season, OVC football head coaches voted Floyd to the
preseason All-OVC Team. In a game against Youngstown State Floyd
returned an interception one hundred yards, tying a conference record,
and scored a touchdown. Floyd shared OVC DPOW honors for a game
against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in which he had thirteen
tackles. He won OVC Defensive Player of the Year, made the OVC
All-Conference first-team, and was named a Kodak and an Associated
Press All-American (an honor given annually to the best college
football players in the United States at their respective positions)
as the Colonels finished with a 10-3 record and lost to the Boise
State Broncos in the championship game 31-29. He finished the regular
season tied for most interceptions in the OVC, with five, and finished
with sixty-three tackles, seven TFLs and one fumble recovery. On
special teams, Floyd returned 17 punts for 142 yards.
Before the 1981 season, an EKU media guide described Floyd as "one of
the most consistent players EKU has ever had in the secondary" and as
a "very intense player". He was co-captain of the team his senior
year. Floyd won OVC DPOW for his performance in an October 24 game
against Western Kentucky in which he had a sack, a pass deflected, an
interception, and eight tackles. In a game against Murray State, Floyd
intercepted a pass from quarterback Gino Gibbs on the EKU two-yard
line with sixteen seconds left in the game. EKU won 24-20. Floyd won
co-DPOW honors for his performance.
After the regular season, Floyd won OVC Defensive Player of the Year,
was voted to the First-team All-OVC, was selected as a Kodak and an
Associated Press All-American, and won OVC Athlete of the Year (given
to the best male overall athlete in the OVC, regardless of sport). In
the postseason, Floyd had a two-interception game against Boise State
in a 23-17 EKU victory, though the Colonels lost in the championship
game to the Idaho State Bengals 34-23 and finished with a 12-2 record.
He finished the year with seventy-two tackles and ten interceptions;
on special teams, he returned thirty-six punts for 314 yards and a
touchdown.
At the end of his tenure with EKU, Floyd was in the school's record
book eight times, and, , he holds or ties five school records: for
longest interception return (100 yards), most punt returns in a single
season (36), most interceptions in a single season (10), most career
interceptions (22), and most career interception return yards (328).
In 1999, Floyd was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame,
and, in 2007, EKU inducted him into their Hall of Fame. Floyd was
elected to EKU's All-Century team, composed of the best football
players in EKU history for its first hundred years, in 2009.
Professional career
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The New York Jets selected Floyd in the fourth round of the 1982 NFL
draft with the 107th overall selection. Floyd signed a contract with
the Jets in June 1982. In Jets training camp, Floyd was the
third-string free safety, behind starter Darrol Ray and Jesse Johnson,
and competed for a spot as a kick returner with Kurt Sohn, Lonell
Phea, and Kolas Elion. Floyd appeared at both safety spots (free
safety and strong safety). Bill Verigan of the 'New York Daily News'
projected "only a very few, perhaps three or four" of the Jets new
players to make the team. Floyd made the team after final cuts.
During the 1982 NFL strike, Floyd worked out at EKU; when he returned
to New York, he worked in construction, installing windows in
skyscrapers. Floyd appeared in ten games for the 1982 New York Jets,
including three playoff games, as the Jets finished the shortened
regular season with a 6-3 record and lost in the AFC Championship Game
to the Miami Dolphins 14-0. According to Pete Reinwald of the
'Tribune', Floyd saw limited action over the season on special teams
and as a backup safety.
Prior to the 1983 season, Floyd tried out for punt returner along with
Kirk Springs and Davlin Mullen. During the preseason, Floyd moved from
safety to cornerback, and averaged 15.2 yards per return as a punt
returner and 30.2 yards per return as a kickoff returner, with one
interception. In a preseason game against the New Orleans Saints,
Floyd suffered a sprained knee on a kickoff return he fumbled. The
Jets placed Floyd on their injured reserve list (IRL), and Floyd
missed the entire 1983 season.
Floyd was placed on the IRL again before the 1984 season with a
hyperextended knee that bothered him intermittently throughout the
preseason. He was activated from the IRL in late October and became a
starter in early November for injured right cornerback Russell Carter.
Paul Needell of the New York 'Daily News' described Floyd as the
fifth-best corner on the Jets by the time he was a starter, and Rowe
described Floyd and Mullen as the Achilles' heel of the Jets defense
on November 19.
Over the course of the 1984 season, Floyd started two games for the
Jets and appeared in eight as the team finished with a 7-9 record and
missed the playoffs. In the 1985 preseason, Floyd re-injured his knee
and was placed on the IRL. The Jets waived Floyd in October 1985 (an
NFL process in which a team releases a player and makes him available
to all other NFL teams), after which he retired. When he played in the
NFL, Floyd stood at 5 ft and weighed 190 lb.
Personal life
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As a junior in high school, Floyd wanted to join the United States
Army. By his senior year in college, he wanted to play professionally
for a team in Texas. He majored in physical education at EKU, a
subject he wanted to teach before being drafted. Before reporting to
training camp for New York, Floyd worked as a student teacher at Tates
Creek Junior High School in Lexington, Kentucky. After his NFL career,
Floyd was employed as an assistant coach at Bellevue High School in
Kentucky. He taught physical education for eighteen years at Bellevue
and Boone County High Schools. , he is a defensive backs coach for
Conner High School in Kentucky and works as an assistant principal at
Boone County High School. Floyd has a master's degree from Northern
Kentucky University.
Floyd has two sisters and a brother; he married Cheryl Johnson in
March 1983. Floyd's two sons played college football, one for the
Louisville Cardinals and another for Louisville and the Chattanooga
Mocs.
After the murder of George Floyd, an unrelated Black American man, in
Minneapolis in May 2020, a photograph of the football player was
erroneously included in a montage at the funeral. The montage was
broadcast on various news networks.
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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd_(American_football)