Stephen Dale Starring (born July 30, 1961) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a wide receiver and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

for six 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). After attending Vinton High School, Starring played

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for

McNeese State University McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. ...

. He was MVP for the

Cowboys A cowboy is a professional pastoralist or mounted livestock herder, usually from the Americas or Australia. Cowboy(s) or The Cowboy(s) may also refer to: Film and television * ''Cowboy'' (1958 film), starring Glenn Ford * ''Cowboy'' (1966 film), ...

football team at the

1980 Independence Bowl The 1980 Independence Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the McNeese State Cowboys and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Background Once again, the Cowboys were champions of the Southland Conference and were thus invited to ...

and 1980 Offensive Player of the Year of the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it pa ...

(SLC), gaining 1,980 yards of total offense, including 974 rushing yards, a school record for rushing yards by a QB. Starring finished his time at McNeese state with 3,083 passing yards (7th all time) and 1,906 rushing yards (12th). He also won three SLC track and field titles, two in the high hurdles and one in the long jump, and was named

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 ...

n for track and field. In 1984, Starring was drafted by the Patriots in the 3rd round of the NFL draft. He went on to play wide receiver for six seasons for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, and

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 ...

. In

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

he was the NFL's 7th leading kickoff returner with 1,012 kick return yards and went on to play in

Super Bowl XX Super Bowl XX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

as a member of the Patriots, where he caught two passes for thirty-nine yards and returned 7 kickoffs for 153 yards. He was inducted into the McNeese State University Hall of Fame in 2000. Starring finished his career with 120 receptions for 2,029 yards and 11 touchdowns, along with 2,389 yards returning kickoffs.

References

1961 births Living people American football wide receivers Detroit Lions players McNeese Cowboys football players New England Patriots players Players of American football from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Tampa Bay Buccaneers players {{widereceiver-1960s-stub