Michael Thomas Levenseller (born February 21, 1956) 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 ...

wide receiver who played three 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) 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) NFC South, South divisio ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

and

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. He was drafted by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

in the sixth round of the

1978 NFL Draft The 1978 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 2–3, 1978, at the Roosevelt Hote ...

. 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 ...

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. Levenseller was also a member of the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

and

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

Early years and college career

Levenseller attended

Curtis Senior High School Curtis Senior High School is a public high school located in University Place, Washington. Curtis Senior High School is a part of the University Place School District and the only high school in the district. The University Place school distric ...

University Place, Washington University Place is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. Its population was 34,866 at the 2020 census. Based on per capita income, University Place ranks 81st of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked. History Universi ...

. He played college football for the

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic program co ...

. He was a Pacific-8 first-team, AP All-West Coast first-team, and AP

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honorable mention wide receiver selection his junior and senior seasons, 1976 and 1977. He recorded 2,061 receiving yards on 121 receptions in his college career. Levenseller was inducted into the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992 and the 2006 Pacific Northwest Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Professional career

Levenseller was selected by the

with the 164th pick in the

. He played in two games for the

in 1978. He played in two games for the

in 1978. Levenseller appeared in 20 games for the

from 1979 to 1980. He played in nine games for the

in 1982, winning the

70th Grey Cup The 70th Grey Cup, also known as the "Rain Bowl", was the 1982 Grey Cup Canadian Football League championship game between the Toronto Argonauts and the Edmonton Eskimos. The Eskimos, who were making their sixth consecutive appearance in the CFL c ...

. He appeared in 24 games for the

from 1983 to 1984.

Coaching career

Levenseller served as a guest coach for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

in 1986, working with the wide receivers. He was wide receivers coach of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

from 1990 to 1991. Levenseller served as wide receivers coach of the Washington State Cougars from 1992 to 2011. He also had stints as

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

. He was wide receivers coach of the

Idaho Vandals The Idaho Vandals are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of Idaho, located in Moscow. The Vandals compete at the NCAA Division I level as a member of the Big Sky Conference. The football team was an independent for th ...

of the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

in 2012.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levenseller, Mike Living people 1956 births Players of American football from Washington (state) American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers American players of Canadian football Washington State Cougars football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Buffalo Bills players Cincinnati Bengals players Edmonton Elks players Calgary Stampeders players BC Lions coaches Toronto Argonauts coaches Washington State Cougars football coaches Idaho Vandals football coaches People from Bremerton, Washington