Rich McGeorge

Rich McGeorge
No. 81
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1948-09-14) September 14, 1948 (age 76)
Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school:Jefferson (Roanoke, VA)
College:Elon
NFL draft:1970 / round: 1 / pick: 16
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:175
Receiving yards:2,370
Receiving touchdowns:13
Stats at Pro Football Reference
College Football Hall of Fame

Richard Eugene McGeorge (born September 14, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for nine seasons with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL).

Playing career

After graduating from Jefferson High School in Roanoke, Virginia, McGeorge enrolled and played football at Elon College (now Elon University).[1] He was the first tight end selected in the 1970 NFL Draft. Other tight ends who would also go on to play in the NFL who were drafted after McGeorge in 1970 include Raymond Chester, Rich Caster and Stu Voigt.[2] While he did not start in any of the 14 games he played in his rookie season, he would go on to start 101 games for the Packers. He was the Packers' starting tight end in every 1971 game and in all Packers games between 1973 and 1978 but one. He caught 175 passes for 2,370 yards in his NFL career.[3] McGeorge had also started the first two games in 1972, but was lost for the season to a knee injury in the second regular season game, against the Oakland Raiders. He was therefore unavailable to play for the Packers in their playoff loss against the Washington Redskins—the only time the Packers made the playoffs in McGeorge's years there.[4] McGeorge bounced back the next season, and was named the Packers' offensive player of the year in 1973.[1]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Bold Career high
Year Team Games Receiving
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
1970 GNB 14 0 2 32 16.0 16 2
1971 GNB 14 14 27 463 17.1 50 4
1972 GNB 2 2 4 50 12.5 23 2
1973 GNB 14 14 16 260 16.3 44 1
1974 GNB 14 14 30 440 14.7 51 0
1975 GNB 14 14 32 458 14.3 43 1
1976 GNB 14 14 24 278 11.6 28 1
1977 GNB 14 13 17 142 8.4 18 1
1978 GNB 16 16 23 247 10.7 25 1
116 101 175 2,370 13.5 51 13

Personal life

McGeorge received his BA degree in Health and Physical Education from Elon in 1971. He and his wife Bonnie have two sons, Randy and Jason.[5]

Post-playing career

McGeorge spent most of his post-NFL career as an assistant football coach and offensive coordinator. He was an assistant coach in three different pro football leagues: the NFL (with the Miami Dolphins), the USFL (with the Birmingham Stallions and Tampa Bay Bandits[5] and the XFL, where he was the offensive coordinator for the Memphis Maniax in the XFL's only season, 2001.[6] He worked under Steve Spurrier at both Duke University and the University of Florida, and was his offensive coordinator with the Bandits. In addition, he worked as an assistant coach at North Carolina Central University and Shaw University. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012 for his college football career at Elon University.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b Doug Doughty, "Hometown hero McGeorge gets a second chance", The Roanoke Times, December 17, 2012. http://ww2.roanoke.com/sports/college/wb/318020/ . Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  2. ^ "1970 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  3. ^ "Rich McGeorge Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  4. ^ Pete Dougherty, "Pete Dougherty column: Injuries hurt, but few players are irreplaceable", Green Bay Press-Gazette, December 4, 2009.
  5. ^ a b Duke Sports Information, "Rich McGeorge Added To Blue Devil Football Staff", January 12, 2002. Available online: http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=142508 . Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  6. ^ Orlando Sentinel, "Memphis Maniax", February 2, 2001. [1] . Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  7. ^ J. P. Giglio, "Elon great Rich McGeorge finally honored", News and Observer, June 11, 2012. http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/06/11/2129918/health-honors-for-rich-mcgeorge.html . Retrieved February 14, 2015.