Andrew Clark Provence (born March 8, 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

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 ...

for five seasons with 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 ...

of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Falcons in the third round of the

1983 NFL draft The 1983 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 26–27, 1983, at the New York She ...

. He played

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for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Provence was also a member of the Denver Broncos.

Early life

Provence was a three-year starter at

Benedictine Military School Benedictine Military School (also referred to as Benedictine or BC) is an American Roman Catholic military high school for boys located in Savannah, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1902 by the Benedictine monks of Savannah Priory, whic ...

in Savannah, Georgia. He was named to the Savannah News-Press All-City team in 1977 and 1978. He also earned All-State honors in 1978. Provence was inducted into the Greater Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.

College career

Provence played for the South Carolina Gamecocks of the University of South Carolina from 1979 to 1982. He recorded ten sacks his senior year in 1982, setting the school's single season sack record. He led the Gamecocks in tackles in 1981 and 1982. Provence was named an All-American by '' The Sporting News'' while garnering Associated Press Third-team All-American and Gannett News Service Second-team All-American accolades in 1982. He also played in the Senior Bowl after his senior year. He recorded 401 total tackles, 35.0 tackles for loss and 26.0 sacks during his college career. Provence was named to South Carolina's Modern Era All-Time Team. He was inducted into the University of South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010. He was named to the

SEC Football Legends SEC Football Legends is an annual award program of the Southeastern Conference designed to honor outstanding former college football players from each of the conference's fourteen member institutions. Begun in 1994, the Legends Dinner featuring vid ...

Class of 2010.

Professional career

Provence was selected by the

with the 75th pick in the

. He played in 70 games, starting sixteen, for the team from 1983 to 1987 and accumulated five career sacks. He was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team by the Pro Football Writers of America. Provence was traded to the Denver Broncos in May 1988 for a tenth round pick in the

1989 NFL draft The 1989 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 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Marq ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on September 1, 1988, after tearing the connective tissue on his left foot during practice on August 31, 1988. He re-signed with the Broncos in July 1989. Provence was placed on injured reserve in August 1989. He was on injured reserve when the Broncos lost to the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 55–10 in

Super Bowl XXIV Super Bowl XXIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion fo ...

on January 28, 1990.

Personal life

Provence has worked as a mental health counselor since August 1990, months after retiring from the NFL. He also has a master's degree in professional counseling from Liberty University and is an ordained minister.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Provence, Andrew 1961 births Living people American football defensive tackles South Carolina Gamecocks football players Atlanta Falcons players Denver Broncos players Mental health professionals Liberty University alumni Players of American football from Savannah, Georgia