Mark Messner

Mark W. Messner (born December 29, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) during the 1989 season. He sustained a serious knee injury in the 1989-90 NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers and never played in another game.

Messner played college football at the University of Michigan. He started every game, 49 in all, at defensive tackle for Michigan from 1985 to 1988. He was the first position player ever to be selected as a first-team All-Big Ten Conference player all four years.

Messner was also a four-time All-American, earning third-team selections in 1985 and 1986, first-team in 1987, and unanimous honors in 1987.

He set still holds Michigan records for quarterback sacks in a game (5), career tackles for loss (70), and career sacks (36). He was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 2014.

Early years and family Messner was born in Riverview, Michigan, a southern suburb of Detroit, in 1965.

Messner's parents divorced when he was young, and he was raised by his mother and stepfather, Del Pretty, He later noted that Pretty "raised me, fed me, spanked me, hugged me, took me to school, wrote me poems, came to all my football games and made me feel like the most important person in the world.

Messner was a hyperactive child for whom football was an outlet to unleash his energy. and graduated in 1984. He was later inducted into both the Catholic Central and Catholic League Halls of Fame.

At six feet, three inches, Messner was small for his position. He adjusted for his size by playing with speed and intelligence. Messner once described his approach as follows: "I try to move with quickness toward his weakness. I try to get away from where he is leaning, like a matador steps around a bull." The Los Angeles Times in January 1989 called him "a quarterback's worst enemy." Despite his lack of college experience, Messner set a new Michigan record in 1985 with 11 quarterback sacks and also totaled 71 tackles and 14 tackles for loss. He was also named the Defensive Player of the Game in the 1986 Fiesta Bowl after he registered nine tackles, forced a fumble, and recovered another. He was also selected as a first-team defensive lineman on the 1985 All-Big Ten team.

1986 season In his second year, Messner started all 13 games at defensive tackle for the 1986 Michigan team that compiled an 11–2 record, tied for the Big Ten Conference championship, and lost to Arizona State in the 1987 Rose Bowl. For the second consecutive year, Messner was selected as a first-team defensive lineman on the All-Big Ten team.

1987 season As a junior, Messner again started every game, 12 in all, at defensive tackle for the 1987 Wolverines. He had 11 sacks during the 1987 season. He was also voted by his teammates as Michigan's defensive player of the year.

1988 season Prior to the 1988 season, the Sporting News featured a photograph of Messner and coach Schembechler on the cover of its preseason issue ranking Michigan #1 in the country. Messner had eight sacks and set a Michigan record in 1988 with 26 tackles for loss. He was also selected to play in the Hula Bowl and the Japan Bowl post-season all-star games. He remains Michigan's all-time career leader in tackles for loss (70), tackles for sack yardage (376 yards), sacks (36), and sack yardage (273 yards).

In 2014, Messner was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor. He has also been included on the ballot for possible induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in both 2013 and 2014.

Professional football

Messner was selected in the sixth round (161st overall pick) of the 1989 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams. He was drafted lower than had been anticipated, and an Associated Press story reported that NFL representatives believed his speed and size (6'3", 255 pounds) made him "too small for an NFL defensive tackle and too slow for a linebacker."

Messner appeared in only four regular season games, none as a starter, for the Rams during their 1989 season.

After retiring from football, Messner worked for Eastman Kodak Company and later for Canon Business Solutions and Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. He was a region vice president for Canon from March 2009 to July 2010 based in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Since July 2010, he has been a vice president of Konica Minolta in Tampa, Florida and CPQ Champion.