Michael Eugene Compton (born September 18, 1970) is a former American college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

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 twelve seasons. Compton 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 ...

for

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

, and was recognized as an All-American

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 eccentricity ...

. He played professionally for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and

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 play ...

of the NFL, and started in

Super Bowl XXXVI Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

for the Patriots.

Early years

Compton was born in

Richlands, Virginia Richlands is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,823 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,578. History Located along the banks of the Clinch R ...

.National Football League, Historical Players
Mike Compton
Retrieved February 16, 2012. He graduated from Richlands High School,databaseFootball.com, Players
Mike Compton
. Retrieved February 16, 2012. where he played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

, baseball and wrestled for the Richlands Blue Tornadoes.

College career

Compton attended West Virginia University, and he played for the

West Virginia Mountaineers football The West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University (also referred to as "WVU" or "West Virginia") in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. West Virginia plays its home games at Milan Puskar ...

team from 1989 to 1992. He began his college career at West Virginia in 1989 as a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

freshman. Compton was backup to senior center Jeff Price that season. In 1990, Compton's sophomore season, he became the starter at the center position. His game experience from his redshirt freshman year was key in his starting success. In 1991, as a junior, Compton was an all-

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

selection. In 1992, his senior season, Compton earned consensus All-American honors. He was a finalist for the

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lombar ...

, a first-team all-Big East selection, a selection to the CFA Scholar-Athlete Team, and a first-team Academic All-American. In 2005, Compton was inducted into West Virginia University's Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Compton was selected in the third round (68th pick overall) of the

1993 NFL Draft The 1993 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 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot Ma ...

by the

, and he played for the Lions from to .Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Mike Compton
Retrieved February 16, 2012. He was the starter on the

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 numbe ...

, blocking for

Barry Sanders Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL), from 1989 to 1998 for the Detroit Lions. Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and ...

during his record-setting rushing seasons. During his time with the Lions, Compton also served as the team's

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point attempt ...

for field goal and point after attempts. Linebacker Allen Aldridge served as the long snapper for punt coverage. During his NFL career, Mike Compton displayed versatility along the offensive line, often playing multiple positions in any given season. * In 1993, he played a reserve role at Center. * In 1995, he would start 2 games at LT then start 3 games at LG. He would start at LG for the final 3 games of the season. * In 1996, he would start 15 games at LG. * In 1997, he would start 14 games at LGDude and start 2 games at LT. * In 1998, he would start all 16 games at LG. * In 1999, he would start 15 games at C and the season finale at LT. * In 2000, he would start the opener and final 5 games at C. In between, he started at LG. * In 2001, he would start all 16 games at LG and take over at C in shotgun situations. * In 2002, he would start 15 games at LG and 1 game at C. In 2001, Compton joined the

squad. In his three seasons with the Patriots, Compton earned two

Super Bowl ring The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itsel ...

s. In 2004, Compton ended his career with the

Coaching career

Compton was an assistant coach at Tazewell High School in

Tazewell, Virginia Tazewell () is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, Tazewell County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,627 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bluefield, West Virginia, Bluefield, West Virginia, WV-VA Bluefield micropolitan area, micr ...

during the 2006 and 2007 seasons. In 2008, he was named head football coach at Patrick Henry High School in

Glade Spring, Virginia Glade Spring is a town in Washington County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,456 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kingsport– Bristol (TN)– Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Jo ...

.Bristol Herald Courier
Retrieved on March 5, 2008. In 2011, Compton began his collegiate football coaching career as offensive line coach for

Bluefield College Bluefield University is a private Baptist university in Bluefield, Virginia. It offers 22 majors and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The campus is about from the state line between Virginia and West Virgi ...

.Jonathan Greene,
Compton to fulfill coaching dreams
" ''Bluefield Daily Telegraph'' (July 23, 2011). Retrieved on February 16, 2012. In 2013, Compton was the offensive line coach at Fairmont State. in 2015, Compton was the offensive line coach at

Concord University Concord University (Concord) is a public university in Athens, West Virginia. It was founded on February 28, 1872, when the West Virginia Legislature passed "an Act to locate a Branch State Normal School, in the town of Concord Church, in the ...

. in 2016, Compton is the offensive line coach at UVA Wise. Compton and his family reside in Richlands, Virginia. He is married to LeTonya. Compton has three children, Jessica, Josh, and Sarah. He became a grandfather for the first time in November 2019.

References

External links

databaseFootball.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Compton, Mike 1970 births Living people All-American college football players American football centers American football offensive guards Detroit Lions players Jacksonville Jaguars players New England Patriots players People from Richlands, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia West Virginia Mountaineers football players