Daniel Ray Spradlin (born March 3, 1959) 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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. He was selected by the Cowboys in the fifth round of the 1981 NFL Draft. He played college football at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

Early years

Spraldin attended Maryville High School in

Maryville, Tennessee Maryville is a city in and the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee, and is a suburb of Knoxville. Its population was 31,907 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area and a short distance from popular tourist de ...

. He was a three-year starter at

. He received All-State, All-South and Blount County Player of the Year honors as a junior and senior. He accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a sophomore, he earned a starting outside linebacker spot late in the season. As a junior, he finished second on the team with 102 tackles. As a senior, he led the team with 125 tackles, including a 12 tackle performance against

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Spradlin was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round (137th overall) of the 1981 NFL Draft. His hard hitting allowed him to make the team over fellow rookie Scott Pelluer and the team also traded Bruce Huther to make room for him on the roster. He was a backup at

middle 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, ...

for Bob Breunig. In 2 seasons, he played in 25 games mostly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, as he struggled learning the Cowboys flex defense. In 1983, he was converted into an

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

man, before being traded on August 24 to the

, in exchange for a fifth round selection (#113- Steve Pelluer) in the 1984 NFL Draft.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Spraldin was acquired for depth purposes and to play on the

units. In 2 seasons, he played in 31 games, starting two in 1983 because of injuries. He was released on August 26, 1985.

St. Louis Cardinals

On September 17, 1985, he was 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 ...

by the

. He played in seven games during the season.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spradlin, Danny Living people 1959 births People from Maryville, Tennessee Sportspeople from the Knoxville metropolitan area Players of American football from Tennessee American football linebackers Tennessee Volunteers football players Dallas Cowboys players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players