Tyrone Thurman Explained

Tyrone Thurman
Position:Wide receiver
Birth Date:31 December 1966
Height Ft:5
Height In:3
Weight Lbs:150
College:Texas Tech
Undraftedyear:1989
Pastteams:
Highlights:
Aflstatlabel1:Receptions
Aflstatvalue1:263
Aflstatlabel2:Receiving yards
Aflstatvalue2:2,956
Aflstatlabel3:Receiving TDs
Aflstatvalue3:32
Aflstatlabel4:Kick returns-yards
Aflstatvalue4:224-3,774
Aflstatlabel5:Kick return TDs
Aflstatvalue5:7
Afl:1600

Tyrone Thurman (born December 31, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, earning first-team All-American honors as a kick returner in 1988.

Career

High school

Thurman played at the running back position at Robert E. Lee High School in Midland, Texas under coach Spike Dykes.

College

Due to his small size at 5' 4" and 126 pounds, Thurman received little interest from Division I schools before being recruited to Texas Tech University with the hiring of his former high school coach Spike Dykes as the defensive coordinator for the Red Raiders in 1984.[4] Thurman would play at the wide receiver position, but earned his accolades as a punt returner.

Thurman would play from 1985-1988, and earned Associated Press All-American 1st Team honors as a kick returner during his senior year in 1988. Thurman concluded his career holding several school records including longest punt return at 96 yards, return yards in a season (444 in 1986), returns in a career (126) and yards in a career (1,466). Several records still stand in 2013, with some having been broken by Mosi Tatupu Award winner Wes Welker.[5]

Professional

Thurman went undrafted in 1989 before being signed as a free agent for the Dallas Cowboys. He was cut from the roster before the 1989 season began and spent several years in both the Canadian Football League and the Arena Football League playing for teams including the Ottawa Rough Riders,[1] Dallas Texans (Arena), Las Vegas Sting, Connecticut Coyotes and Texas Terror.

Notes and References

  1. News: Connor. Desmond. An Arena That's All Their Own. 23 December 2013. Hartford Courant. May 12, 1995.
  2. Texas Tech Announces Hall of Honor Inductees . Texas Tech University . September 12, 2002 . December 22, 2013.
  3. News: No Tall Tale At 5-2 3/4, Thurman Makes Big Impact At Texas Tech . Philadelphia Daily News . December 22, 2013 . Fernandez, Bernard . Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  4. Book: Dykes, Spike. Spike Dykes's Tales from the Texas Tech Sideline. 2004. Sports Publishing. Champaign, IL. 1-58261-265-X. 77.
  5. Web site: 2013 Record Book. Texas Tech University. 2013-12-23. 2013-10-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20131014055600/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/text/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2013-14/misc_event/record-book-2013.pdf. dead.