Houston Antonio George Jr. (born August 10, 1975) is an American former college and 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

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

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) and

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

for three seasons in 1999, 2000 and 2001. 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 ...

for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, where he was a member of the Gators' consensus national championship team in 1996. He was a third-round pick in the

1999 NFL Draft The 1999 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 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...

, and played 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 ...

and

Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy: * Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007 * Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...

Early years

George was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Tony George
Retrieved January 1, 2012. George has a younger sister, Tari, who suffers from

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

; George has cited her as an inspiration. He attended Winton Woods High School in

Forest Park, Ohio Forest Park is the second most populous city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cincinnati. The population was 18,720 at the 2010 census. Geography Forest Park is located at (39.286408, -84.520363). According to the Un ...

,databaseFootball.com, Players
Tony George
. Retrieved January 1, 2012. where he played high school football for the Winton Woods Warriors. He was diagnosed as a Type 1 insulin-dependent diabetic in 1991, which was his sophomore year of high school. As an Academic All-American in high school, George was recruited by 167 colleges and he chose the

College career

George accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

, where he played for coach

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former American football, football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of ...

team from

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 ...

to 1998.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 89, 97, 98, 154, 181 (2011). Retrieved January 1, 2012. George was an Academic All-SEC and All-American performer, graduating with degrees in therapeutic recreation and leisure service management. The Gators won

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) championships in 1995 and 1996, and a Bowl Alliance national championship in 1996. George returned an interception for an 89-yard touchdown in the Gators' 33–20 victory over the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

in 1997, which remains the third longest touchdown return in Gators history. As a senior in 1998, he was recognized as a coaches' first-team All-SEC selection and an honorable mention All-American by ''

Football News A national championship in the highest level of college football in the United States, currently the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), is a designation awarded annually by various organizations to their selection of the best coll ...

''. George was ejected before the Gators' loss in the Florida-Florida State game in 1998, following a multiplayer scuffle.

Professional career

The

selected George in the third round (91st pick overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft, and he played for the Patriots in and .National Football League, Historical Players
Tony George
Retrieved January 1, 2012. During his two-season NFL career, he appeared in thirty-one games. Allocated to the

in 2001. George saw time in non regular season games with the Patriots and Panthers in 2001, Titans in 2002 and went to training camp with the Edmonton Eskimos in 2003.

Personal life

George is a Christian and received his

Doctorate in Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

early 2015. George is the CEO of two companies, on the board of a record label, and is a professional speaker. He started his own company, H.E.A.T. Pro Fitness. He is certified as a NESTA master trainer, certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and AFAA. George has started his own foundation, Patriotic Mentoring, to assist with mentoring and developing youth and young adults. George lives in

Fort Mill, South Carolina Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. As of 2020 United States census, 2020 census, 24,521 people live inside the town's corporate limits. ...

. He is married and the father of three, two daughters and one son.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). . {{DEFAULTSORT:George, Tony 1975 births Living people Players of Canadian football from Cincinnati Players of American football from Cincinnati American football cornerbacks American football safeties Florida Gators football players New England Patriots players