Dan Stevenson
Encyclopedia
Dan Whitney Stevenson is a free agent American football
offensive lineman who last played for the Houston Texans
of the National Football League
. He was drafted by the New England Patriots
in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at Notre Dame
.
Stevenson has also been a member of the Miami Dolphins
.
in Barrington, Illinois
. He was a PARADE
All-American, rated 95th on the Chicago Sun-Times
list of the nation's top 100 prospects and rated the top offensive lineman in the Midwest. He earned three letters
in football
, helping his team win two league titles as a junior and senior. The team captain
, he made 63 pancake blocks as a senior in 2000
.
He also won three letters in track and field
, qualifying for the state meet in the discus
and shot put
. He served twice as the track team's captain, earning All-League honors as a senior. He also played volleyball
on the junior varsity for two years as a freshman and a sophomore.
over four seasons (2002-2005
) at Notre Dame and was a three-year starter at offensive guard. He was redshirted
in 2001.
After being redshirted in 2001, played in 11 games (including one start) in 2002. He began the year as a reserve guard and moved to tackle and into the starting lineup for the Gator Bowl
against N.C. State
, in place of Brennan Curtin
. Stevenson made his first career appearance for the Fighting Irish against Maryland
. He became a regular part of the offensive line rotation and saw increased playing time as the season progressed.
Stevenson started 10 games at right guard as a sophomore in 2003, while also making 12 special teams appearances. He made his only collegiate reception when he grabbed a tipped pass at the line against Michigan State
. Stevenson helped running back
Julius Jones
(now with the Seattle Seahawks
) rush for a school-record 262 yards against Pittsburgh
. Jones recorded three games with 200-plus yards rushing, becoming the first player in Notre Dame history to achieve the feat.
In 2004, Stevenson started all 12 games at right guard and helped the Fighting Irish average 345.5 yards per game. He collected 56 key blocks/knockdowns with six touchdown
-resulting blocks, playing on a line that allowed just 25 sacks. He also made 40 special teams appearances on the season. Stevenson blocked for the Irish to rush for 195 yards against national champion Southern California
- the most rushing yards allowed by the Trojans in two years.
As as senior, Stevenson was the winner of the Guardian Insurance Guardian of the Year Award, presented annually to Notre Dame's top offensive lineman. He was an All-Independent first-team selection by the NFL Draft Report. Starting all 12 games at right guard, he helped an explosive offense that averaged 36.7 points and 477.3 yards per game (330.2 passing, 147.1 rushing). He helped lead the way as halfback
Darius Walker
eclipsed 100 rushing yards in seven games. On the year, Stevenson produced 78 key blocks/knockdowns with eight touchdown-resulting blocks, as the offensive line allowed only 21 sacks. He also made 71 special teams appearances. He helped the offense churn out more than 500 yards in five separate games and exceed 600 yards once (621 yards against Purdue
).
time was 4.55 seconds and his 3 cone drill
time was 7.33 seconds.
. He was waived by the Patriots on September 2, 2006 following training camp, and proceeded to spend the first eight games of the regular season on the team's practice squad before being released November 7.
two days later, ending his season. Stevenson was not resigned following the season.
, played at Missouri
, in the USFL for the Chicago Blitz
(1983) and Arizona Wranglers
(1984) before playing with the Detroit Lions
as a center
/guard in 1985. Dan's brother, Tony, played football at Arizona State
while another brother, Joey, played football at Arizona Western
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
offensive lineman who last played for the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He was drafted by the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft
2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
.
Stevenson has also been a member of the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Early years
Stevenson attended Barrington High SchoolBarrington High School (Lake County, Illinois)
Barrington High School is a public four-year high school located in Barrington, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Barrington Community Unit School District 220.-Original structure:...
in Barrington, Illinois
Barrington, Illinois
Barrington is a suburban village in Cook County, Illinois and Lake County, Illinois. The population was 10,327 at the 2010 census. Located approximately northwest of Chicago, the area features wetlands, forest preserves, parks and horse trails in a country-suburban setting...
. He was a PARADE
Parade (magazine)
Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
All-American, rated 95th on the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
list of the nation's top 100 prospects and rated the top offensive lineman in the Midwest. He earned three letters
Varsity letter
A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...
in football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, helping his team win two league titles as a junior and senior. The team captain
Captain (sports)
In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...
, he made 63 pancake blocks as a senior in 2000
2000 in sports
2000 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Hermann Maier, Austria** Women's overall season champion: Renate Götschl, Austria-American football:...
.
He also won three letters in track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, qualifying for the state meet in the discus
Discus
Discus, "disk" in Latin, may refer to:* Discus , a progressive rock band from Indonesia* Discus , a fictional character from the Marvel Comics Universe and enemy of Luke Cage* Discus , a freshwater fish popular with aquarium keepers...
and shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
. He served twice as the track team's captain, earning All-League honors as a senior. He also played volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
on the junior varsity for two years as a freshman and a sophomore.
College career
Stevenson played in 45 games with 35 startsStarting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
over four seasons (2002-2005
2005 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
The 2005 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was a college football team who represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis in his first year as head coach, and played their home games at Notre Dame Stadium...
) at Notre Dame and was a three-year starter at offensive guard. He was redshirted
Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
in 2001.
After being redshirted in 2001, played in 11 games (including one start) in 2002. He began the year as a reserve guard and moved to tackle and into the starting lineup for the Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
against N.C. State
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
, in place of Brennan Curtin
Brennan Curtin
Brennan Curtin is an American football offensive tackle. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2003. He suffered what would be a career ending knee injury against the New Orleans Saints in the preseason of 2004...
. Stevenson made his first career appearance for the Fighting Irish against Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
. He became a regular part of the offensive line rotation and saw increased playing time as the season progressed.
Stevenson started 10 games at right guard as a sophomore in 2003, while also making 12 special teams appearances. He made his only collegiate reception when he grabbed a tipped pass at the line against Michigan State
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
. Stevenson helped running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Julius Jones
Julius Jones
Julius Andre Maurice Jones is an American football running back who played college football at the University of Notre Dame and is currently a member of the Free Agent Class of the National Football League. Before signing with the Saints on October 12, 2010, Julius had stints with the Dallas...
(now with the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
) rush for a school-record 262 yards against Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
. Jones recorded three games with 200-plus yards rushing, becoming the first player in Notre Dame history to achieve the feat.
In 2004, Stevenson started all 12 games at right guard and helped the Fighting Irish average 345.5 yards per game. He collected 56 key blocks/knockdowns with six touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
-resulting blocks, playing on a line that allowed just 25 sacks. He also made 40 special teams appearances on the season. Stevenson blocked for the Irish to rush for 195 yards against national champion Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
- the most rushing yards allowed by the Trojans in two years.
As as senior, Stevenson was the winner of the Guardian Insurance Guardian of the Year Award, presented annually to Notre Dame's top offensive lineman. He was an All-Independent first-team selection by the NFL Draft Report. Starting all 12 games at right guard, he helped an explosive offense that averaged 36.7 points and 477.3 yards per game (330.2 passing, 147.1 rushing). He helped lead the way as halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
Darius Walker
Darius Walker
Darius A'Dunte Walker is an American football running back who is a free agent in the National Football League. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Notre Dame.Walker has also been a member of the St...
eclipsed 100 rushing yards in seven games. On the year, Stevenson produced 78 key blocks/knockdowns with eight touchdown-resulting blocks, as the offensive line allowed only 21 sacks. He also made 71 special teams appearances. He helped the offense churn out more than 500 yards in five separate games and exceed 600 yards once (621 yards against Purdue
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
).
Pre-draft
At the Notre Dame pro day, Stevenson measured a height of 6-5 1/4 and a weight of 300 pounds. He ran the 40-yard dash twice with a time of 5.34 seconds. His short shuttle20 yard shuttle
The 20-yard shuttle, also simply called the short shuttle, is a test performed by American football athletes at the NFL combine. It is primarily run to evaluate the quickness and change-of-direction ability of players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting...
time was 4.55 seconds and his 3 cone drill
3 cone drill
The 3 cone drill, or three cone drill, is a test performed by American football athletes at the NFL combine. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting...
time was 7.33 seconds.
New England Patriots
Stevenson was drafted by the New England Patriots in the sixth round (205th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
. He was waived by the Patriots on September 2, 2006 following training camp, and proceeded to spend the first eight games of the regular season on the team's practice squad before being released November 7.
Miami Dolphins
Two days after his release from the Patriots, the Dolphins signed Stevenson to their practice squad. They elevated to the active roster on December 19. He was inactive the final two games of the season. Stevenson was released by the Dolphins during final cuts on September 1, 2007.Houston Texans
The Texans signed Stevenson to their practice squad on December 4, 2007. He was signed to a future contract by the Texans on January 15, 2008, was waived/injured on July 22, 2008, cleared waivers, and was placed on injured reserveInjured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
two days later, ending his season. Stevenson was not resigned following the season.
Personal
Dan's father, Mark StevensonMark Stevenson
Mark Stevenson is a London-based British author, comedian, businessman, public speaker and futurologist, as well as a former semi-professional musician. He is Chief Operating Officer and a founder of Flow Associates, a cultural learning agency and a principal at ReAgency, a science...
, played at Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
, in the USFL for the Chicago Blitz
Chicago Blitz
The Chicago Blitz were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid 1980s. They played at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois.- Team history :...
(1983) and Arizona Wranglers
Arizona Wranglers
The Arizona Wranglers were a professional American Football team in the United States Football League in the mid 1980s. They played at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix.-Founding:...
(1984) before playing with the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
as a center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
/guard in 1985. Dan's brother, Tony, played football at Arizona State
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
while another brother, Joey, played football at Arizona Western
Arizona Western College
Arizona Western College is a public community college located in Yuma, Arizona, United States. AWC offers classes in San Luis, Somerton, Marine Corp Air Station , Wellton, Dateland, and La Paz....
.