Scott Stephen Nicolas (born August 7, 1960) 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 ...

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, p ...

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). Nicolas 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 ...

for the Clearwater Tornadoes in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...

, and

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 the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

and then spent six seasons as a linebacker with the NFL's

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

(1982–1986) and the

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

(1987).

High school

Nicolas was a 3 sport letterman in football, baseball, and basketball. earned Clearwater high's two most prestigious athletic awards, the Earle Brown Award, and the Best All Around Senior Athlete Award. His senior yr he was first-team All-County Honors, All-District, All-Regions, All Suncoast, All-State, and honorable mention All-American.

College

Nicolas attended the University of Miami and played for the Miami Hurricanes football team from 1978 to 1981. He became a starter his freshman year against Notre Dame. As a freshman, he set and still holds the record for the most tackles in a single game, 26, against Penn State. He went on to lead the team in tackles that season and every season after. When Nicolas left the University of Miami, he held the all-time record for total

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...

, with 307 unassisted tackles and 149 assists. He set the record for the most solo tackles and most tackles in a single season. Nicolas was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame at the 51st Annual Induction Banquet in 2019

Professional career

Cleveland Browns Nicolas was selected by the Cleveland Browns in 1982 and played for them for 5 years. Miami Dolphins Nicolas was signed by the Miami Dolphins in 1987. In the 1988 season, he tore his rotator cuff, he was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. The Dolphins eventually released him in May, 1989, when he could not pass his physical due to his shoulder injury .

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20100218103328/http://databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=NICOLSCO01 American football linebackers Cleveland Browns players Miami Hurricanes football players Miami Dolphins players Players of American football from Wichita Falls, Texas Clearwater High School alumni Players of American football from Clearwater, Florida 1960 births Living people {{linebacker-1960s-stub