Sean Fitzgerald Love (born September 6, 1968) is a former American football offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers. 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 ...

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

Early life and education

Love attended Marian Catholic High School in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, where he played as a both an offensive and

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

, contributing to a three-year mark of 32–4. As a junior in 1986, he posted 27 sacks, helping the team post a 13–0 record, that was part of a 24–game winning streak and a district title. As a senior, he contributed to a conference championship, while receiving All-State honors. He was named the defensive most valuable player in the Big 33 Football Classic between the all-stars from the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland.

College career

Love accepted a football scholarship from

and was redshirted as a freshman. As a freshman in 1989, he played as an offensive guard, starting 9 out of 11 games. As a sophomore, he was named a starter at

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 ...

, but suffered a leg injury in the season opener against the University of Virginia, that forced him to miss 3 of the next 8 games. He returned to start in the last 2 games of the year. As a junior, he suffered different injuries that limited him to play in only 4 games and 57 offensive plays. He was limited to 19 games in three seasons due to injuries, so he declared for the

1991 NFL Draft The 1991 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 21–22, 1991, at the Marriott Mar ...

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Love was selected in the tenth round (264th overall) of the

by the Dallas Cowboys. He was waived on August 12.

New York Giants

On August 14,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, he was claimed off waivers by the

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

. He was cut on August 26.

Buffalo Bills

On July 6,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, he was signed by the

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. ...

. He was released on October 21 from the practice squad. He was re-signed in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, but was released before the season started.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (first stint)

On August 31,

, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers claimed him off waivers. He was declared inactive during the first 5 games, before being waived and signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster for teams final 7 games, seeing action on special teams in 2 contests. In

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, he played in six games, before missing final part of season with shoulder injury. He was waived on August 22,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

Carolina Panthers

On September 6,

, Love signed with the expansion Carolina Panthers for their inaugural season. That year, he played in a career high 11 games mainly on special teams and made the only start of his professional career. He was released on August 18,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (second stint)

On January 2,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, he signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was cut on August 18.

New York Jets

Love was claimed off waivers by the

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

, before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles a few days later in exchange for past considerations.

Philadelphia Eagles

Although he was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles prior to the start of the 1997 season, he was later brought back in November and was activated in two out of the final six games. He was re-signed in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, but was released in August.

Orlando Rage

On December 6, 2000, he was claimed from the P.A.S.S. pool by the Orlando Rage of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

. In 2001, he played in 10 games with 5 starts. The league was terminated on May 10, 2001.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Love, Sean 1968 births Living people American football offensive guards Carolina Panthers players Orlando Rage players Penn State Nittany Lions football players People from Tamaqua, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Tampa Bay Buccaneers players