Richard Barry Krauss (born March 17, 1957) is a former professional American football player who played

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for twelve seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL).

Early years

Krauss was born and reared in

Pompano Beach, Florida Pompano Beach ( ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As of the 2020 ...

; he was a star football player at

Pompano Beach High School Pompano Beach High School (formerly Pompano High School, Pompano Beach Senior High School and The Pompano Beach High School Institute of International Studies) is a college-preparatory school located in Pompano Beach, Florida, which instructs gra ...

from 1972–1975. Voted as Sun Sentinel's "All-Time Broward County Linebacker", Voted to the State of Florida's "Top 100 Football All-Star Team", Most Valuable Player of the MENAC Bowl: 1975. Voted as Sun Sentinel's Player of the Year: 1975.

College career

Highly recruited out of high school, he played college football at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

for the legendary coach

Paul "Bear" Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of t ...

, and was a key member of Alabama's 1978 National Championship football team. At the

1979 Sugar Bowl The 1979 Sugar Bowl was the 45th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 1. Part of the 1978–79 bowl game season, it matched the top-ranked Penn State Nitt ...

in one of the most famous plays in college football history, Krauss stopped

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

running back

Mike Guman Michael Donald Guman (born April 21, 1958) is a former professional football player with the Los Angeles Rams (1980–1988). Guman was a star running back at Bethlehem Catholic High School (where he was a high school teammate of future NFLer Jo ...

short of the goal line late in the 4th quarter to help the Crimson Tide to the

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. Krauss was selected MVP of the game for his efforts. Alabama's All-Century Team: 1970's, Atlanta Touchdown Club's Southeastern Conference Lineman of the Year: 1976, All-American 1977–78, All-SEC 1977–78, Liberty Bowl Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player: 1976, Sugar Bowl Most Valuable Player: 1979 (only defensive player to win MVP in first 75 years of Sugar Bowl History), Defensive Player of the Week Honor: CBS Broadcast of NCAA/Chevrolet Scholarship Program – LSU vs Alabama: 1978, Birmingham Monday Morning QB Club's Defensive Player of the Year: 1978, Inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame: 2007.

Professional career

Krauss was the first round draft choice (6th overall pick) in 1979 for the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

. He played ten years in the NFL with the Colts, and played his final two seasons with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

. In 12 seasons, he played in 152 games, amassed over 1,000 tackles and had 8 sacks and 6 interceptions.

After football

Today he is a professional broadcaster and

motivational speaker A motivational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep talk. Motivational speakers ca ...

based in

Carmel, Indiana Carmel is a suburban city in Indiana immediately north of Indianapolis. With a population of 100,777, the city spans across Clay Township in Hamilton County, Indiana, and is bordered by the White River to the east; the Hamilton-Boone county ...

. In 2007, he was inducted into the

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF) is a state museum located in Birmingham, Alabama, dedicated to communicating the state’s athletic history. The museum displays over 5,000 objects related to athletes who were born in Alabama or earned fame ...

. In 2013, he began broadcasting

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

preseason with Don Fischer. Krauss is also an honorary member of

Theta Chi Theta Chi () is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 at Norwich University then-located in Norwich, Vermont, and has initiated more than 200,000 members and currently has over 8,700 collegiate members across Nort ...

fraternity.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krauss, Barry American football linebackers Alabama Crimson Tide football players Alabama Crimson Tide football announcers Indianapolis Colts announcers Baltimore Colts players Indianapolis Colts players Miami Dolphins players American motivational speakers 1957 births Living people People from Pompano Beach, Florida People from Carmel, Indiana Krauss, Barry National Football League announcers College football announcers Sportspeople from Broward County, Florida Ed Block Courage Award recipients