Michael Croel is a former American football

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...

 linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

 who played in 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...

 and the XFL

XFL

The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...

.

Career

In a seven year NFL career, he played for the Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

, Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...

 and 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...

 of the NFL and the Los Angeles Xtreme

Los Angeles Xtreme

The Los Angeles Xtreme was a professional American football team based in Los Angeles, California. The team was a member of the XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. The team played its home games in the Los Angeles...

 of the XFL. Croel attended Los Altos High School (Los Altos, California)

Los Altos High School (Los Altos, California)

Los Altos High School, established in 1954, is a public school located in the affluent Silicon Valley suburb of Los Altos, California. It has generally demonstrated a high level of academic achievement...

 and Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School is a public, regional high school located at 390 Lincoln Road in Sudbury, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Its current superintendent/principal is Scott Carpenter.-History:...

, 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 the University of Nebraska. In 2003 he was inducted in their Football Hall of fame.

Croel was selected by the Broncos in the first round of the 1991 NFL Draft

1991 NFL Draft

The 1991 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 21–22, 1991 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Manhattan, New York...

. In 1991 he was chosen as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

NFL Rookie of the Year Award

Since 1967, the Associated Press has given two annual Rookie of the Year Awards to National Football League players: one for an offensive player and one for a defensive player. These two are often regarded as the "official" awards...

and the UPI AFL-AFC Rookie of the Year award. In that same rookie year, Croel recorded ten sacks, his single-season high. In 101 career games, Croel scored one touchdown, recorded 24.0 sacks, two interceptions and 38 yards. Today, Croel resides in Los Angeles, working as a high school football coach and a graphic designer, designing movie posters and websites, and lives with his wife and two daughters.