Eric Quinn Metcalf is a former
American footballAmerican 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...
running backA 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...
and
wide receiverA wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
in the
National Football LeagueThe 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...
who played for the
BrownsThe Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
,
FalconsThe Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
,
ChargersThe San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
,
CardinalsThe Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
,
PanthersThe Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
,
RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
and
PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
. He was a three-time
Pro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
er for Browns and the Chargers.
High school career
Metcalf attended
Bishop O'Connell High SchoolBishop Denis J. O'Connell High School was founded in 1957 in Arlington County, Virginia. It was operated by the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, but has been under the direction of the Diocese of Arlington since 1974. The school is named for Bishop Denis J...
in
Arlington County, VirginiaArlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal capital district. On February 27, 1801, the United States Congress organized the area as a subdivision of...
. In high school Metcalf competed in both
footballHigh 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....
and track and field. He excelled in the long jump and still has the seventh longest distance ever posted indoors by a US high schooler with a jump of 25 foot.
College career
Metcalf attended and played
college footballCollege 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 the
University of TexasThe University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
where he was an All-Southwest Conference selection three times.
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
kickoffA kickoff is a method of starting a drive in American football and Canadian football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team"...
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 returned-kick touchdowns are the third most in NFL history behind Brian Mitchell and
Devin HesterDevin Hester is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League . He played college football at the University of Miami, where he became the first person in the university’s recent history to play in all three phases of American football...
(first). 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 DraftThe 1998 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18-19, 1998...
to pick quarterback
Ryan LeafRyan David Leaf is a former American football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League for four seasons...
.
Personal
Metcalf currently coaches football at Rainier Beach High School in
Seattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. 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 MetcalfTerrance Randolph Metcalf is a former professional American football running back who played six total seasons in the National Football League, five of them with the St. Louis Cardinals, and one with the Washington Redskins. He attended Long Beach State University...
.
External links