Jeffery Neil Roth (born April 21, 1966) is a former American football

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

in the Arena Football League (AFL) for the Orlando Predators. He also was a member of the San Francisco 49ers in the

NFL 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 major ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the University of Florida.

Early years

Roth attended Seminole High School, where he was a starter at

outside 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, ...

. As a senior, he collected 15 sacks and was named Clearwater Sun defensive player of the year. He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Florida, where he was converted into a defensive lineman. As a redshirt freshman in 1985, he started 5 games at nose tackle in one of the nation's best defenses. He had 2 sacks against

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

, earning his first start in the fourth game against Louisiana State University. He made 10 tackles against

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

. He finished the season with 44 tackles, 6 sacks, 7 tackles for loss, 2 passes defensed and received second-team freshman All-American honors. As a sophomore, he was named a full-time starter at nose tackle. He posted 76 tackles (seventh on the team), 3 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and 2 passes defensed. He had 10 tackles in the eighth game against

. He made 11 tackles in the tenth game against the University of Kentucky. As a junior, he was limited with back and ankle injuries, tallying 48 tackles, 6 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and one fumble recovery. In the

1987 Aloha Bowl The 1987 Jeep-Eagle Aloha Bowl was a college football bowl game, played as part of the 1987-88 bowl game schedule of the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the sixth Aloha Bowl. It was played on December 25, 1987, at Aloha Stadium in ...

, he had 4 tackles, one sack, 2 tackles for loss and one quarterback pressure. As a senior, he registered 50 tackles, 2 sacks, 15 tackles for loss (led the team), 2 passes defensed and one forced fumble. He had 7 tackles, a shared sack, 2 tackles for loss and one quarterback pressure against the University of Memphis. He finished his college career with school marks for defensive lineman, first all-time in tackles for loss (44) and third all-time in sacks (17). He also posted 218 tackles, 6 passes defensed. one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Professional career

Roth was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round (125th overall) of the

1989 NFL Draft The 1989 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 April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Marq ...

. He was waived before the start of the season on September 4. In December, he was signed to the San Francisco 49ers'

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. On January 22,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, he was released to make room to activate linebacker Jim Fahnhorst. On March 30,

, he signed as a free agent with the Miami Dolphins, where he was tried at nose tackle and defensive end. He was released on September 3. In

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, he signed with the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League. He announced his retirement from football after the

1992 season Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

References

External links

Jeff Roth Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roth, Jeff 1966 births Living people People from Seminole, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football defensive tackles Florida Gators football players San Francisco 49ers players Orlando Predators players