Robert Meade (Buzz) Sawyer (born November 18, 1962) is a former American football punter in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. 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 Baylor University.

Early years

Sawyer attended Waxahachie High School. He accepted a football scholarship from Baylor University. He became a starter at punter as a sophomore, posting 45 punts for 1,178 yards (26.2-yard avg.). As a junior, Sawyer tallied 73 punts for 3,275 yards, a 44.9-yard average (school record and led the conference) and seven punts of 60-plus yards (school record). As a senior, he registered 52 punts for 2,332 yards (44.8-yard avg.). At the time, he held the school career record for punting average (43.4) and the school's top two punting seasons.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

Although he was selected by the San Antonio Gunslingers in the

1985 USFL Territorial Draft The 1985 USFL Territorial Draft was the third Territorial Draft of the United States Football League (USFL). It took place on January 3, 1985, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. Under the previous 2 territorial drafts, each team had 5 designat ...

, Sawyer opted to sign as an undrafted free agent by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

after the

1986 NFL draft The 1986 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 29–30, 1986, at the Marriott Marq ...

. He was waived on August 31.

Dallas Cowboys

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, Sawyer signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys. He was waived on August 31. After the NFLPA strike was declared on the third week of the season, those contests were canceled (reducing the 16 game season to 15) and 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 ...

decided that the games would be played with replacement players. In September, he was re-signed in September to be a part of the Dallas replacement team that was given the mock name "Rhinestone Cowboys" by the media. He struggled in the game against the Washington Redskins, making 5 punts for 173 yards and a 34.6-yard average. He started 3 contests at punter, making 16 punts for 639 yards, with a long of 54 yards and a 39.9-yard average. He was released on October 20, at the end of the strike.

Golf career

After retirement from football Sawyer took up golf around the Houston area playing in many local tournaments. On weekends Sawyer, or Buzz as his golfing buddies like to call him, can be frequently found playing a game of Wolf Hammer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawyer, Robert 1962 births Living people Sportspeople from Waxahachie, Texas Players of American football from Ellis County, Texas Waxahachie High School alumni American football punters Baylor Bears football players Dallas Cowboys players National Football League replacement players