Teddy Lehman is an
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...
linebackerA 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...
for the
Las Vegas LocomotivesThe Las Vegas Locomotives are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada who play in the United Football League. The team plays its home games in Sam Boyd Stadium, home field for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Jim Fassel is the franchise's head coach, president, and...
of the United Football League. He was drafted by the
Detroit LionsThe 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...
in the second round of the
2004 NFL DraftThe 2004 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 24-25, 2004 at the theater at Madison Square Garden...
. He 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
OklahomaThe Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
.
Lehman has also been a member of the
Tampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
,
Buffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and
Jacksonville JaguarsThe Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Early years
At
Fort Gibson High SchoolFort Gibson Public Schools is located in the small town of Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. The school mascot is the tiger.Teddy Lehman attended Fort Gibson High School and graduated in 2000. Filmmaker and author, Mark L. Cowden, also graduated from Fort Gibson High School in 1993.There was a school...
in
OklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Lehman started at both
linebackerA 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...
and
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...
, wearing number 34. As a senior, he helped his squad post its best record ever (13-1) and advance to the Class 4A title game.
He ended his senior season with 181 tackles, nine interceptions, eleven sacks, and six forced fumbles. He ranked first in the state in rushing with 1,892 yards and 36 touchdowns on 206 carries (8.1 avg.) as a running back. He also shared the punting duties for the Tigers with an average of 51.6 which was the top in Class 4A.
He recorded more than 600 tackles and twenty interceptions during his career.
College career
In 2000 as a freshman, Lehman played in all 13 games starting 5 and finished the season with 59 tackles and two sacks. He was a First-Team Freshman All American Selection.
In 2001, Lehman replaced departed
Dick Butkus AwardThe Butkus Award, instituted in 1985, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football...
winner
Rocky CalmusRocky Calmus is a retired American football linebacker who played for the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts. He played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the 2001 Butkus Award as the nation's top college linebacker....
as weak-side linebacker, and was more than able to fill his predecessor's shoes. He finished the year with 132 tackles, including four sacks and 17 stops for losses, and garnered accolades from around the country. He was the Chevrolet National Defensive Player of the Year and was one of three finalists for the Butkus Award. He was the recipient of the fumble by Texas quarterback
Chris SimmsChristopher David Simms is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas.Simms has also played for the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers...
which was jarred loose by
Roy WilliamsRoy Lee Williams is a retired American football safety. He played college football at Oklahoma before he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys eighth overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. He spent seven seasons with the Cowboys and earned five straight Pro Bowl selections from 2003–2007...
and Lehman took it into the endzone for the game-winning score.
In 2002, Lehman was named a first-team All-American selection by various publications, including The NFL Draft Report, the
Associated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, and
Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
. Lehman was also named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and added All-Big 12 Conference first-team honors from the media and league coaches.
Lehman posted six tackles (five solo) in the
Rose BowlThe Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
against
Washington StateWashington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
and sacked Quarterback
Jason GesserJason John Gesser , formerly an American football quarterback for the Utah Blaze of the Arena Football League, is the running backs coach for the University of Idaho Vandals. He is the grandson of Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame member Joseph "Red" Dunn.-High school years:Gesser attended Saint Louis...
twice for a loss of 17 yards. Both sacks ended scoring drives at the end of the second quarter and were instrumental in securing Oklahoma's first-ever Rose Bowl win.
During the 2003 season, Lehman continued his success from his breakout 2002 campaign. He led the team in tackles, with 157, adding six forced fumbles, nine pass breakups, and 29 tackles for loss. His 24 stops behind the line of scrimmage shattered the school’s season record for linebackers (17, shared by
Brian BosworthBrian Keith "The Boz" Bosworth, is a former American football linebacker. He played college football for the University of Oklahoma...
in 1986,
Torrance MarshallTorrance James Marshall , is a former professional American football player. He played high school football at Miami Sunset Senior High. He played college football at the University of Oklahoma and was a the MVP of the 2001 Orange Bowl. In the past, he has played in the National Football League,...
in 1999, and Rocky Calmus in 2000.)
Lehman closed out his college career in the 21-14 Sugar Bowl loss against
LSUThe LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...
with eight tackles (six solo) and two stops behind the line of scrimmage, including one sack.
He was named a consensus All-American First-Team selection and a unanimous All-Big 12 Conference first-team choice. He was awarded the Dick Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top linebacker, as well as the
Chuck Bednarik AwardThe Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive collegiate football player adjudged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States...
, given to the nation’s top defensive player. Lehman was rated the top outside linebacker pro prospect in the country by The NFL Draft Report.
First stint with Lions
Teddy Lehman was drafted by the
Detroit LionsThe 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...
with the fifth pick of the second round (37th overall) in 2004.
Lehman was the only rookie linebacker in the NFL to start all 16 games in 2004. He also logged a total of 1,225 plays (1,054 on defense, 171 on special teams), more than any other member of the team. He finished the season with 102 tackles, the second-highest total on the team.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
He signed with the
Tampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
as an unrestricted free-agent on March 4, 2008. However, he was released on July 25.
Second stint with Lions
On July 26, 2008, Lehman re-signed with the
Detroit LionsThe 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...
. His No. 54 taken by
Gilbert GardnerGilbert Ravelle Gardner, II is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue....
, Lehman was assigned No. 58. He was placed on Injured Reserve on August 4. On August 8, he was taken off IR and released.
Buffalo Bills
Lehman was signed by the
Buffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on November 7, 2008 after
cornerbackA cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
Ashton YoubotyAshton Youboty is an American football cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
was placed on
injured reserveThe 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...
.
Las Vegas Locomotives
Lehman signed with the
Las Vegas LocomotivesThe Las Vegas Locomotives are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada who play in the United Football League. The team plays its home games in Sam Boyd Stadium, home field for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Jim Fassel is the franchise's head coach, president, and...
of the United Football League on August 5, 2009.
Jacksonville Jaguars
On May 11, 2010 Teddy Lehman signed a contract with the
Jacksonville JaguarsThe Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He was one of eight players that participated in the club’s May 1–3 mini-camp on a tryout basis. On September 3, 2010 he was released by the Jaguars.
External links