Jessie Tuggle

Jessie Lloyd Tuggle Jr. (born April 4, 1965)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as a linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) from 1987 to 2000. He played college football for the Valdosta State Blazers. He appeared in the Pro Bowl five times, and played in Super Bowl XXXIII. His nickname is "the Hammer", because of the impact of his tackles.

Early life

Tuggle was born in 1965 in Spalding County, Georgia,<ref name=PFA>Template:Cite web</ref> and attended Griffin High School. He played football at Griffin as an outside linebacker and offensive guard.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>

Tuggle was considered "too small" (five-foot-10 and 180 pounds) and "too slow" to play Division I college football. He was not recruited by any Division I programs and received only two Division II offers. He accepted an offer from Valdosta State University and was a four-year starter at linebacker from 1983 to 1986. He broke Valdosta's career record with 340 tackles.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was a three-time All-Gulf South Conference selection and his No. 88 was retired less than a decade after Tuggle left.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2007, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.<ref name=":0" />

Atlanta Falcons

After going undrafted, Tuggle signed with the Atlanta Falcons through a chance encounter. During training camp, myriad injuries at linebacker gave Tuggle playing time and a shot at making the roster (which he did).<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>

After being a role player his rookie season, he recorded 108 tackles by virtue of eight starts. Becoming a bona fide star on the Atlanta defense, marked by the 1989-1993 period in which Tuggle racked up 969 tackles. During that stretch, he made his first Pro Bowl appearance in 1992.<ref name=":1" /> Even while the Falcons languished, Tuggle never thought of leaving in free agency, even when he would meet former teammates like Brett Favre.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This endeared him to many Atlanta fans, who consider him one of the greatest and most beloved Falcons of all time.

After being with the Falcons through some tough years,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the high point in Tuggle's career was 1998, when he played in Super Bowl XXXIII and was voted to the Pro Bowl.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Tuggle retired during training camp in 2001 after injuries plagued the end of his career.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In his 14 NFL seasons, Tuggle appeared in 209 games (189 as a starter) and recorded 1,640 tackles (164 assisted), 21 sacks, six interceptions, which he returned for 106 yards and a touchdown, 10 forced fumbles and 37 pass deflections. He also recovered 10 fumbles, returning them for 155 yards and an NFL record five touchdowns.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He and his former teammate Clay Matthews Jr. are the only two players to lead the NFL in tackles four times. Tuggle also holds the record for most tackles from 1990 to 1999 with 1,293.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the time of his retirement, he held the NFL record for touchdowns via fumble recoveries with five.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

NFL career statistics

Legend
	Led the league
Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	Games		Tackles				Interceptions			Fumbles
		GP	GS	Cmb	Solo	Ast	Sck	Int	Yds	TD	FF	FR
1987	ATL	12	4	35	–	–	1.0	0	0	0	0	0
1988	ATL	16	8	103	–	–	0.0	0	0	0	1	1
1989	ATL	16	16	183	–	–	1.0	0	0	0	0	0
1990	ATL	16	14	201	–	–	5.0	0	0	0	3	2
1991	ATL	16	16	207	–	–	1.0	1	21	0	1	2
1992	ATL	15	15	193	–	–	1.0	1	1	0	1	1
1993	ATL	16	16	185	–	–	2.0	0	0	0	1	1
1994	ATL	16	16	129	93	36	0.0	1	0	0	0	1
1995	ATL	16	16	152	111	41	1.0	3	84	1	1	0
1996	ATL	16	16	114	96	18	1.0	0	0	0	1	0
1997	ATL	16	15	92	69	23	1.5	0	0	0	0	0
1998	ATL	16	16	86	66	20	3.0	0	0	0	1	1
1999	ATL	14	14	92	71	21	3.5	0	0	0	0	0
2000	ATL	8	7	33	26	7	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
Career		209	189	1,805	532	166	21.0	6	106	1	10	10

Personal life

Tuggle's oldest son, Justin Tuggle, played at Kansas State University and is a former linebacker in the NFL and Canadian Football League. He participated in the 2013 NFL draft, but was undrafted, and eventually signed with the Houston Texans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

His youngest son, Grady Jarrett, played defensive end in college football at Clemson University. Jarrett went on to be selected as the first pick in the 5th round (137th overall) of the 2015 NFL draft by his father's former team, the Atlanta Falcons.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Tuggle has experienced some concussion-related symptoms like memory loss.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Pro Football Reference Profile