Michael D. Wilcher (born March 20, 1960) was a former
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 ...
linebacker. He is a graduate from the
University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
who played pro football from 1983–1991 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 ...
and
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
.
He played his high school football at
Eastern High School, a powerhouse in Washington DC.
At the University of North Carolina, Wilcher replaced
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor (born February 4, 1959), nicknamed "L.T.", is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as an outside linebacker for the New York Giants ( 1981–1993) in the National Football League (NF ...
in the
Tar Heel
Tar Heel is a nickname applied to the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans.
The origins of the Tar Heel ...
lineup, recording 68 tackles his senior season. He had 20 tackles for loss in his final two seasons combined. He was drafted in the second round (36th overall pick) of the
1983 NFL Draft
The 1983 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 26–27, 1983, at the New York She ...
. He was noted for good size (6-3, 240 pounds) and speed (4.73 forty-yard time).
With the Los Angeles Rams he spent his first year-and-a-half playing special teams and backing up outside linebackers
Mel Owens
Mel Tyrae Owens (born December 7, 1958) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1977 to 1980. He was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the first round (ninth overall pick) of the 1 ...
and
George Andrews. When Andrews suffered a knee injury in 1984, Wilcher took over the right outside linebacker position and held it though 1990. He started the final 5 games of 1984 and recorded 2 sacks. In 1985 Wilcher led the Rams with 12.5 sacks and recording 97 tackles. He ended his Rams career with 400 tackles, 38.5 sacks and 4 interceptions. He finished his NFL career playing two games with the San Diego Chargers, making his career total 125 games. He now lives in
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
with his wife and three kids
1960 births
Living people
American football linebackers
North Carolina Tar Heels football players
Los Angeles Rams players
San Diego Chargers players
Players of American football from Washington, D.C.
African-American players of American football
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople
Eastern High School (Washington, D.C.) alumni
{{linebacker-1960s-stub