Lonnie Marts Jr. (born November 10, 1968) 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, ...

who played ten 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). He currently resides in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

and coaches future NFL hopefuls with his athletic training compan
Godspeed Sports Performance

Professional career

Marts began his NFL career 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 ...

from

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

where he had a position as a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

, despite his large frame. In 1991, he was discovered by

Tony Dungy Anthony Kevin Dungy ( ; born October 6, 1955) is an American former football safety and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts. Dungy's teams be ...

and signed with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

. He later played with the

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 ...

from 1994 to 1996. Many believe that during this time is when he was at his best performance. He later played with the

Tennessee Oilers Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to the ...

and started 15 games with the team until 1998. In 1999, Lonnie played with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

and replaced the injured

Bryce Paup Bryce Eric Paup (born February 29, 1968) is an American former professional football player who was an outside linebacker for eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars an ...

. He retired with the Jaguars in 2000.

Current profession

Marts is currently the director and trainer of Godspeed Sports Performance. He is also the athletic director at Harvest Community School in Jacksonville, Florida. In addition to his role at Godspeed Sports Performance, in his spare time, Marts coaches football to aspiring players in Jacksonville, Florida.

Personal life

He is married to Gionne Taylor Marts, and they have five children.

References

External links

Godspeed Sports Performance Official SiteLonnie Marts Tampa Bay Buccaneers Football Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marts, Lonnie Kansas City Chiefs players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Tennessee Oilers players Jacksonville Jaguars players Tulane Green Wave football players American football linebackers 1968 births Living people American exercise instructors St. Augustine High School (New Orleans) alumni