Dean Elmer Steinkuhler (born January 27, 1961) is a former professional

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 wi ...

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 gu ...

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 majo ...

(NFL) for eight seasons in the 1980s and 1990s. Steinkuhler 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

for the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

, and was recognized as an All-American. He was selected in the first round of the

1984 NFL Draft The 1984 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 May 1–2, 1984, at the Omni Park Cen ...

, and played professionally for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

of the NFL.

College career

Steinkuhler attended the

, where he won the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Am ...

, given to the nation's top

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

, in 1983. This marked the third consecutive time a Cornhusker had won the award as

Dave Rimington David Brian Rimington (born May 22, 1960) is a former American college and professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1980s. Rimington played college football for the Universi ...

had won back to back Outland Trophies in 1981 and 1982. Steinkuhler also won the

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lomba ...

in 1983, marking the second consecutive year a Nebraska player had won that award as Rimington had also won the Lombardi in 1982.

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

is the only team that has had consecutive winners of both of these awards. Steinkuhler is one of eight Nebraska winners of the Outland Trophy and one of five Nebraska winners of the Lombardi Award. Nebraska players have won nine Outland Trophys overall, by far the most in the nation. Oklahoma has the second most with four. He is, along with fellow Nebraska Cornhuskers

Rich Glover Richard Edward Glover (born February 6, 1950) is a former professional football player, a defensive tackle for the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Nebraska under head c ...

, Dave Rimington and Ndamukong Suh, one of only thirteen players to have won both the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award. In 1999 Steinkuhler was selected to the Nebraska All-Century Football Team via fan poll and was named to the All-Century Nebraska football team by

Gannett News Service Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Turner Gill Turner Hillery Gill (born August 13, 1962) is an American college athletic administrator and former gridiron football player and coach. He is the Executive Director of Student-Athlete and Staff Development at the University of Arkansas, a positio ...

's intentional fumble in the

1984 Orange Bowl The 1984 Orange Bowl was the 50th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Monday, January 2. Part of the 1983–84 bowl game season, it matched the undefeated and top-ranked Nebraska Cornhus ...

and ran it 19 yards for a touchdown in a play dubbed the " Fumblerooski".

Collegiate All-Century Teams

In 1999 Steinkuhler was selected as a third-team offensive guard by

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

in their "NCAA Football All-Century Team". The starters were Jim Parker of Ohio State and John Hannah of Alabama, the second-team consisted of

Bob Suffridge Robert Lee Suffridge (March 17, 1916 – March 3, 1974) was an American football player in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at the University of Tennessee, where he was later inducted into th ...

of Tennessee and Bill Fischer of Notre Dame and the other third-team player was Aaron Taylor of Nebraska. Steinkuhler was one of six Nebraska Cornhuskers on this All-Century Team 85 man roster; the others being Glover,

Johnny Rodgers Johnny Steven Rodgers (born July 5, 1951) is an American former football player. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and won the Heisman Trophy in 1972. Rodgers played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) ...

, Rimington,

Tommie Frazier Tommie James Frazier Jr. (born July 16, 1974) is an American former football player and coach who played quarterback for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Frazier led his team to consecutive national championships in 1994 and 1995, and is ...

and Taylor. In 1999 Steinkuhler was selected as an offensive guard to the

Walter Camp Football Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The organization also presents various awards. It is named in honor of fo ...

College Football All Century Team. The other offensive guards selected were John Hannah of Alabama, Aaron Taylor of Nebraska, Brad Budde of USC,

Will Shields Will Herthie Shields (born September 15, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, earnin ...

of Nebraska and Jim Parker of Ohio State. Steinkuhler was one of six Nebraska Cornhuskers selected to this team; the others being Rodgers, Rimington, Shields, Frazier and Taylor. Steinkuhler is one of 54 players and one of five Cornhuskers named to both the Sports Illustrated and Walter Camp All-Century teams.

Professional career

Steinkuhler was the second overall pick in the 1984 NFL Draft, taken by the

. He was an Oilers co-rookie of the year. He played both offensive guard and offensive tackle with the Oilers after playing solely offensive guard in college. He played eight seasons with the Oilers (some of those alongside fellow former Husker teammate Mike Rozier) before retiring in 1991.

Personal

Steinkuhler hailed from Burr, Nebraska, which, according to the 2000 census, has a population of just 66 people. It is thought to be the smallest town to ever produce an All-American. He played both eight-man and eleven-man football at nearby Sterling High School. His sons Ty and Baker have followed in his footsteps. Both are defensive tackles and both graduated from Nebraska. Ty and Baker played at

Lincoln Southwest High School Lincoln Southwest High School is a Lincoln Public high school which is located on 74 acres adjacent to Wilderness Park in Lincoln, Nebraska. Academics Southwest offers dual enrollment education through three local tertiary education institut ...

and Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca High School.

External links

*
Nebraska football All-Century TeamAthlon Sports Nebraska's All-Time TeamSI's NCAA Football All-Century TeamWalter Camp Football Foundation All Century Team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinkuhler, Dean 1961 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive tackles Houston Oilers players Nebraska Cornhuskers football players People from Otoe County, Nebraska Ed Block Courage Award recipients