Tony Degrate

Anthony Degrate (born April 25, 1962) is an American former professional football player who won the 1984 Lombardi Award and earned consensus All-American honors. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, where he was a defensive tackle and still holds the record for most solo tackles in a season, He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL) in the 1985 NFL draft, and played professionally for the NFL's Green Bay Packers as a defensive end.

Early life Degrate was born in Snyder, Texas and played high school football and baseball at Snyder High School, where he was All-State Honorable Mention in football and threw a 96mph fastball.

College career He played college football at the University of Texas at Austin from 1981 to 1984 where he majored in commercial arts.

In 1981, he only played in one game - against TCU - recording one tackle and one sack. That season the Longhorns spent a week ranked #1 and came in 2nd in the Southwest Conference, but because SMU was banned from post-season play, they played in the 1982 Cotton Bowl Classic where they upset Alabama and finished the season ranked #2.

In 1982 he played in every game. The Longhorns again finished in 2nd place in the Conference behind SMU and were ranked #8 when they were upset by the North Carolina Tarheels in the Sun Bowl.

He was a first-team All-Southwest Conference (SWC) selection in 1983, led the team in tackles for a loss (22), the third most in a season in school history at the time and was a key member of the 1983 Longhorns team that won the SWC championship and finished ranked #5. That season the Longhorns lost the Cotton Bowl by 1 point, where a win would've secured them the National Championship.

He finished his career with the 3rd most quarterback sacks (31) and 5th most tackles for a loss (47) in a career in school history.

In 1989, he was named to the San Antonio Express-News All-Time Southwest Conference Football Second Team.

In 2005 he was enshrined in the Longhorns Hall of Honor.

A few months later the Cincinnati Bengals drafted Degrate 127th overall in the fifth round of the 1985 NFL draft, which was a disappointment for him since most Lombardi Award winners were drafted in the 1st round. Part of the reason he slipped was because he'd talked to the Bandits, but also scouts said he lacked the necessary agility and quickness. Being drafted late shook his confidence and he reported not working out or going to classes like he should and becoming reclusive. At camp, he expected to play noseguard, but he spent the first two weeks at defensive end before being moved to that position. After another week, he started having problems with his right knee again. The Bengals switched him back to end and then cut him before he even played in a preseason game. The Bengals said it was because they had better veterans on the team already, but Degrate said he ddin't get his mind and body right. After being cut he again caused him to withdraw, and the surprise fall caused some to assume he was using drugs - though there was no evidence that he did.

Later Life Being cut by Tampa Bay, Degrate returned to Snyder. In 2012, he coached Cedar Park's 6-man football team to a 1-9 record.