Spencer Clay Shiver (born December 7, 1972) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

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) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

and

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

. He played college football at Florida State University, where he was a member of a national championship team and earned All-American honors.

Early years

Shiver was born in

Tifton, Georgia Tifton is a city in Tift County, Georgia, United States. The population was 17,045 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Tift County. The area's public schools are administered by the Tift County School District. Abraham Baldwin Agr ...

. He attended Tift County High School,databaseFootball.com, Players
Clay Shiver
. Retrieved February 4, 2017. where he played football for the Blue Devils, while receiving recognition as a Parade All-America and an All-State selection as a senior.

College career

Shiver accepted a football scholarship to attend Florida State University, where he played for coach

Bobby Bowden Robert Cleckler Bowden (; November 8, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was an American college football coach. Bowden coached the Florida State Seminoles of Florida State University (FSU) from 1976 to 2009 and is considered one of the greatest college ...

Florida State Seminoles football The Florida State Seminoles football team represents Florida State University (variously Florida State or FSU) in the sport of American football. The Seminoles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Col ...

team. In 1992, he shared the starting center role (5 starts) as a redshirt freshman, helping the team to an 11-1 record and an

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...

invitation. As a sophomore in 1993, he was the snapper for

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Charlie Ward Charlie Ward Jr. (born October 12, 1970) is a former American professional basketball player. Ward was an exceptional football player as well, winning the Heisman Trophy, Davey O'Brien Award, and College Football National Championship while quart ...

and a member of the Seminoles'

Bowl Coalition The College Football Bowl Coalition was formed through an agreement among Division I-A college football bowl games and conferences for the purpose of forcing a national championship game between the top two teams and to provide quality bowl game ...

national championship team that defeated the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

18–16 in the

. He received his first All-conference selection, while giving up a half of a quarterback sack in 700 offensive snaps.Seminoles.com, FSU Hall of Fame
Clay Shiver
Retrieved February 4, 2017. In his junior and senior years, he was awarded the

Jacobs Blocking Trophy The Jacobs Blocking Trophy is the name of several similar annual college football awards bestowed by a conference upon their best blocker. The awards are named in honor of William P. Jacobs, founder and president of Presbyterian College from 1935 t ...

, presented annually to the best blocker in the ACC. In his last year, he helped the offense averaged 551.5 yards-per-game, ranking third in the nation. In 2001, he was inducted into the Florida State Athletics Hall of Fame. Bowden called him "the best center that I've coached in 20 years at Florida State."

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Shiver was selected by the

in the third round (67th overall) of the 1996 NFL draft. As a rookie, he was the backup to

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

Ray Donaldson Raymond Canute Donaldson (born May 18, 1958) is a former American football Center in the National Football League for the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Georgia ...

and was used at the

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

position in short yardage situations. In , he replaced Donaldson at

and was the only lineman to start every game at the same position. He started the first nine games in , before being limited with a turf toe injury and eventually being replaced in the starting lineup with 31-year-old rookie

Mike Kiselak Michael John Kiselak (born March 9, 1967 in Sleepy Hollow, New York, North Tarrytown, New York) is a former American football Guard (American football), guard in the Canadian Football League for the Sacramento Gold Miners, San Antonio Texans and ...

Denver Broncos

In , he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

, but was waived before the start of the season due to injury.

Carolina Panthers

On December, 14, , he was signed by the

to fill the roster spot left open by the injured

Nate Newton Nathaniel Newton (born December 20, 1961) is a former American football guard in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers. He also was a member of the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League. He ...

, but he did not appear in a regular season game. He was released on August 27, .

Personal life

Shiver is currently a high school football head coach for Boca Raton Christian School.

References

External links

Florida State Seminoles bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiver, Clay 1972 births Living people People from Tifton, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Florida State Seminoles football players All-American college football players American football centers American football offensive guards Dallas Cowboys players Carolina Panthers players