George Eldon Andrews, II (born November 28, 1955) 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 with ...
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 ...
. He is a graduate of the
University of Nebraska
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
who played 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 ...
from 1979–1984 for the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
.
High school
Andrews attended
Omaha Burke High School
Harry A. Burke High School is a secondary school located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The principal is Darren Rasmussen. The school's mascot is the Bulldog.
Each year in May, the Nebraska State Track Meet is held at the school. Its stadi ...
in Omaha, Nebraska where he excelled in both football and basketball.
College
Andrews was a three-year starter for the Nebraska Cornhuskers at defensive end. As a sophomore, in 1976, he had 49 tackles, six for a loss and recovered two fumbles. The team ended the season defeating the
Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raide ...
, 27-24 in the 1976
Bluebonnet Bowl
The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium from 1959 ...
. As a junior in 1977, George Andrews made 84 tackles with eight for a loss, knocked down three passes, intercepted one pass and recovered one fumble. For his efforts, he was voted honorable mention All-Big Eight. The 1977 season ended with Nebraska beating the University of North Carolina 21-17 in the
Liberty Bowl
The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City ...
. In that game, Andrews totaled 19 tackles.
As a senior, in 1978, Andrews was a First-team
All-American by NEA and "Football News." He was also a Second-team choice on the AP and UPI teams. George Andrew was also a consensus All-Big Eight selection. His statistics were the best of his career, with 84 tackles (good for 3rd on the team) with 10 of those coming behind the line as sacks. Andrews broke up three passes and intercepted another. He ended his career with 217 tackles, with 24 of those totaling 118 yards in losses.
In addition, Andrews was an
Academic All-American
The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are giv ...
as well with a 3.1 GPA in Business Administration.
NFL
George Andrews was drafted as a linebacker in the
1979 NFL Draft
The 1979 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria ...
, the 19th pick overall by the Los Angeles Rams. His tackling prowess, 360-pound bench press and 4.7 40-yard dash speed seemed ideal for a 230-pound NFL outside linebacker, or a stand-up defensive end.
As a rookie, Andrews played well on special teams, totaling 33 tackles and a fumble recovery. In 1980, Andrews began the season with a thigh injury, missing three games. However, in the tenth week of the season, starting linebacker
Bob Brudzinski
Robert Louis Brudzinski (born January 1, 1955) is a former American football linebacker who played 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).
Ohio State
Brudzinski was a four-time letter winner and a three-year starter at defensive end for ...
left the team and Andrews started the remaining seven games in Brudzinski's place. In the final six games, the Rams defense allowed only 75 points in a defensive surge that helped them to make the playoffs. George Andrews ended the season with 44 tackles, three passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
In 1981, Andrews was the Rams' starter all season at right linebacker. He was the Rams' fifth leading tackler with 75, with three going for a loss and he had a half quarterback sack, the first of his career. In the strike-shortened 1982 season, Andrews started all nine games, recording 67 tackles, tying with
Johnnie Johnson for the team lead. He also had six tackles for losses and recorded three sacks. He recorded a forced fumble and batted away five passes either in pass rushes or pass coverages.
The following season, George Andrews had a new coach,
John Robinson, and a new defensive scheme. Andrews would be an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense, similar to the position he had played in college. He responded with 77 tackles and three sacks. His first NFL interception, he returned 22 yards and it led to a Ram offensive score. Nine of his tackles (including sacks) went for losses and Andrews defended 12 passes, the most among Rams' linebackers.
In 1984, Andrews was off to a great start, sacking
Gary Hogeboom
Gary Keith Hogeboom (born August 21, 1958) is an American former football quarterback, real estate developer, and television personality. He played in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts and Phoenix Cardinals. ...
on the third play of the season that forced Hogeboom to cough up the ball and
Jack Youngblood
Herbert Jackson Youngblood III (born January 26, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
recovered it on the Dallas 2-yard line, where 2,000-yard rusher
Eric Dickerson
Eric Demetric Dickerson (born September 2, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Dickerson played college football for the Mustangs of Southern Me ...
ran it over for the first Rams score of the 1984 season. Andrews prowess at sacking quarterbacks in 1984 prompted
Bill Bain to call Andrews, "The White Lawrence Taylor"
But his luck seemed to run out when he injured his knee in Week 10 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Through 10 full weeks Andrews recorded 43 tackles, 13 of them were for losses with six being quarterback sacks, which was second on the team, behind Youngblood. Andrews played one series in Week Eleven of 1984 but was put on
injured reserve
The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...
for the remainder of the season.
In 1985, Andrews, who had rehabbed the knee, attempted a comeback but another knee injury in training camp in 1985 ended the comeback. Andrews was attempting a quick maneuver around a New England Patriot blocker in the final exhibition game of 1985. As he moved, untouched by defenders, Andrews planted his right foot and felt his cleats catch in the turf. "I felt my knee explode," he said.
In 1986, the Rams offered George Andrews a shot as an inside linebacker, to take some pressure off of him and the speed he lost due to two major knee surgeries in two seasons. George Andrews played inside linebacker at training camp that year but didn't like it.
On August 25, 1986, his career ended as the Rams released him.
Andrews' "Plan B" (if he could not return to football) was to finish taking the required test to become a certified financial planner. He had taken four of the six required tests to become a CFP.
Andrews played six seasons for the Rams, playing 80 games, starting 58. He ended his career with 12½ sacks, 7 fumble recoveries, 1 interception, 23 passes defensed, and 6 forced fumbles to match his 340 tackles.
Pro Football Reference.com
/ref> His right outside linebacker job had been held by a fine player, Mike Wilcher
Michael D. Wilcher (born March 20, 1960) was a former NFL linebacker. He is a graduate from the University of North Carolina who played pro football from 1983–1991 for the Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers.
He played his high school foot ...
, since 1984.
References
External links
NFL.com player page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews, George
1955 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Omaha, Nebraska
American football linebackers
Nebraska Cornhuskers football players
Los Angeles Rams players