Randy Gradishar

At 72 years old, Randy Gradishar has this physical status:

Randy Charles Gradishar (born March 3, 1952) is a retired American football linebacker who played in the 1970s and 1980s.

A native of Ohio, Gradishar was a two-time consensus All-American for the Ohio State Buckeyes, before playing ten seasons for the NFL's Denver Broncos, where he was the centerpiece of the "Orange Crush Defense".

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High school career

Gradishar is a 1970 graduate of Champion High School, Champion, Ohio. Randy played both football and basketball for three years during his high school career. Randy has been lauded for his work as a high school football player, including All-League, All-County, and the Star Helmet Award.

He was the best rebounder for three years and the second highest scorer for two years in basketball, winning All-League and All-County awards. Randy holds the most blocked shots (1944), single game rebounds (26), and the most career rebounds (817).

Randy was inducted into the Champion High School Hall of Fame for Athletics in 2004. Al Carrino, his former high school coach, introduced him.

College career

Gradishar, a three-year starter at Ohio State University from 1971 to 1973, was a degree in Distributive Education. Gradishar was "the best linebacker I've ever taught," Woody Hayes, former Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes said. In his senior year, he had 134 tackles, 60 of them solo, to lead the team.

Gradishar's three years with the Buckeyes, the team had a 25–6-1 record and two Big Ten Conference championships. In the 1974 Rose Bowl, Gradishar's last collegiate game was a 42–21 victory over the University of Southern California, bringing to a 10–0–1 record. In his senior season, the Ohio State defense allowed only 64 points and had four shutouts.

Gradishar made 22 tackles, then the second most in a game in Ohio State history, and now stands at 9th best. When Gradishar left Ohio State and now ranks 11th best in team history, his 320 career tackles were the most in school history.

Gradishar was a consensus First-Team All-American in 1972 and a unanimous First-team pick in 1973. Gradishar finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1973.

In 1973, Randy became a full-American. Gradishar was a linebacker who went out every day with his hard hat and lunch pail and got the job done, according to scouts. Gradishar was the "best Big Ten linebacker in three years" when naming him, according to the Scouts, "he has the ability to cover someone else's mistake." Gradishar appeared in the Hula Bowl and the Coaches' All-American game in 1974 before entering the National Football League.

Randy was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity while attending the Ohio State University.

In 1983, Gradishar was inducted into the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame. In 1987, he was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. In 1992, Gradishar was inducted into the GTE Academic Hall of Fame. "No more outstanding young man has participated in our athletic program has participated in our athletic program," Ohio State's athletic director, Ed Weaver, said. In 1998, Gradishar was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Gradishar was given the Dick Butkus Silver Anniversary Award in 1999, recognizing his contributions 25 years after his graduation from Ohio State. In 2000, he was selected to the Ohio State Football All-Centure Team.

The Randy Gradishar Award, the Ohio State end-of-season accolade for the most outstanding linebacker, is named. Recently ranked as the 8th best Ohio State player of all time. Also included on the list of the Top 100 college football players of all time. In 2000, I was selected as an inside linebacker to ABC Sports' All-Century team.

NFL career

Gradishar was drafted 14th overall in the 1974 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. Gradishar went on to spend ten seasons with the Denver Broncos franchise. He played for Tom Jackson as part of the Orange Crush Defense and is considered by some to be the best defensive player in Broncos history. Gradishar and Roger Staubach, according to teammate Jim Jensen, were the two best players he ever played with.

He played for the Pro Bowl in his rookie year and was named to his first Pro Bowl after the 1975 season, his third in the NFL. The Broncos' "Orange Crush" defense allowed the third fewest rush yards in the NFL, behind only the Steelers' "Steel Curtain" defense and the Cowboys' "Doomsday" defense from that season to 1983. In addition, the Broncos were second only behind the Steelers in the fewest yards per rush in the same time span. By the BBC and others, they have been named one of the NFL's top defenses.

Gradishar won a game-sealing victory over the Green Bay Packers in 1975, when he cut it off and returned it for a game-sealing victory while still recording a sack, two tackles for loss, and six solo tackles.

Gradishar went from middle linebacker to inside linebacker, where he stayed for the remainder of his career, in 1976. Gradishar's duties related to rush-lane discipline and pass coverage that are not typical of a middle linebacker in the 4–3 defense were given to him as a result of the switch to the 3–4 defense. Gradishar led all NFL linebackers in sacks last year, leading the Broncos in tackles for the second straight year. United Press International named him as the second team All-AFC second team.

Gradishar was a member of the Broncos in 1977, their first appearance in Super Bowl XII. He received Pro Bowl awards and was named first team All-Pro. He anchored a defense that allowed the AFC to have few points allowed (148 in the 14-game season), and gave up the 6th-fewest yards. Gradishar was also named AFC Defensive Player of the Year by the Columbus Touchdown Club in 2009. Terry Frei, 1977: Denver, the Broncos, and a Coming of Age book starring Gradishar, Lyle Alzado, and others is a collection of the Broncos' 1977 Broncos seasons. The 1977 Broncos season began with a 7–0 shutout of the St. Louis Cardinals, one of the NFL's best offenses from 1974 to 1976, starring offensive players such as Jim Hart, Terry Metcalf, Mel Gray, Dan Dierdorf, and Conrad Dobler. The Broncos made a goal line stand against the Kansas City Chiefs, defeating them 14–7 in a 14–7 victory. "Gradishar penetrated and stopped two running plays as Gradishar did time and time again on the goal line in his career," Denver staff writer Terry Frei's book, 77: Denver, the Broncos, and a Coming of Age. Both Gradishar and Defense's defense was on display.

In 1978, he was named consensus NFL Defensive Player of the Year by winning the Associated Press award and the NEA Defensive MVP award, as well as the UPI Defensive Player of the Year award and the NEA Defensive MVP award for his efforts with the Broncos in the second straight season. The Broncos defense allowed 198 points in 16 games, finishing second in the NFL behind the Super Bowl champion Steelers. In addition,, Gradishar was the year's best NFL Linebacker of the Year in 1978, an honor he regained in 1979.

The Broncos defense finished fifth in fewest points allowed during the 1979 season, while Gradishar led the team in tackles for the 5th straight season. As the Broncos defense ranked in the middle of the pack in several offensive categories, the 1980 season was average in terms of records (8–8) and statistics (13–8). Gradishar's return to Cleveland Browns Stadium was an interception for a touchdown that was his career-long interception return and one of four defensive touchdowns scored in his career. For the second time in three years, he was named All-Pro and was named Broncos Most Valuable Player.

The Bronco defense recovered in 1981, ranking 6th in total defense and ninth in the fewest points allowed as the Broncos finished the season undefeated. Randy had one of his best seasons as a consensus All-Pro and All-AFC quarterback as well as being named to the Pro Bowl.

In 1983, the Broncos returned to the playoffs, led by rookie quarterback John Elway and Gradishar, who capped off his career with his seventh Pro Bowl in ten NFL seasons. Gradishar intercepted a pass, recovered a fumble, sacked a game, and a tackle for loss in a crucial 38–27 victory in Week 12 of 1983, against the Seattle Seahawks.

"He was as good a linebacker as I've ever been around," Gradishar's former coach Dan Reeves said, and I've been to some great ones. When I was in Denver, he was a leader without fear of our defense. He was an excellent footballer. When I first arrived in Dallas before I ever went to Denver, I had a lot of admiration for him. Since arriving in Denver and seeing what kind of a leader he was, my admiration for him grew. He never missed a game and was a determining factor on the track. When making their game plans, the opposing team would always have to factor him in."

"The heart and soul of the original Orange Crush defense was Randy Gradishar" on the original Orange Crush defense. He was the tether connecting a ragtag group of degenerates and hand-me-downs in Joe Collier's 3-4 "I'm positive" together. "There are quite a few scouts who will tell you that former Broncos ILB Randy Gradishar was just as good, even as strong as Jack Lambert," Pro Football Weekly's staff scout Joel Buchsbaum said.

"Maybe the most underrated and most underrated ever" when naming the top linebackers ever, Buchsbaum wrote about Gradishar. He had rare intuition and was more efficient in short-yardage and goal-line situations than Lambert and was also very efficient in goal-line situations. The fact that he is not in the Hall of Fame is a shame, but it could have been attributed to the fact that he was not a hitter or look-at-me player." Jonathan Rand, a Riddell author, was named as one of the Top 25 linebackers of all time in 2006.

These NFL scouts' observations, "Superior diagnostician with exceptional accuracy, balance, attacking form, and high lateral mobility, were all included in Pro Football Weekly's report, "Superior diagnostician with exceptional agility, balance, tackling form, and excellent lateral mobility." While not as flashy or brutal as some ILBs, Denver's defense adds almost as much to Denver's defense as Walter Payton does to Chicago's offense." Although not as brutal as Butkus or Bergey, he's still adroit at combat and gets the ball off the field, plays with blocks and getting to the ball, and he's got a lot of confidence on his pass drops and is consistently superb."

Gradishar isn't as bad as Butkus, according to Zander Hollander, who wrote The Complete Handbook of Pro Football, but Gradishar does not snarl like Lambert, but the plays are not snarling as Lambert. Hey, he can hit too. "It was the first time in my career like that in the open field," Saint Henry Childs said after Gradishar knocked his helmet off. Gradishar's hitting ability was a feature that was echoed in Rick Korch's book, The Truly Great. "I ran a pass pattern and was wide open in a 1980 game," Tony Dorsett recalled, but Danny White did not see me. I go back to the huddle to tell Danny that I am wide open. I took the same route again, but this time I was almost decapitated. When I struck the ground, my eyes were only partially open. Trainers and physicians have stepped out into the workforce. They assumed I was dead. Oh, and I was dead, too. "Walter, who gave you the toughest hit you ever took in the NFL?" Hall of Fame defensive lineman Dan Hampton remembers asking Walter Payton. "Randy Gradishar, 1978," Payton said in Hampton. Gradishar was one of the Top Five Best hitters in the NFL in 1981, quoting the modest Gradishar, "The opportunity for a good shot comes very seldom, but when it is available, I take full advantage of it."

"His range separated him from others at his age," Gradishar's Steve Sabol said about him. He was also a good pass defender, with a strong and tenacious tackle. He possessed particulars in terms of intelligence, planning, and athletic ability. His "play anticipation" was the best in football. At the time of impact, he had a natural ability to square his body into the ball carrier, making him an excellent performer on third or short." "Randy Gradishar was one of the most versatile players I've seen," Detroit Lions General Manager and fellow inside linebacker Matt Millen said. He was always around the ball, rarely out of place, and was always making plays. Linebackers are difficult to assess because of a lack of data. But someone like a Randy Gradishar was quick to judge because of what he produced." In addition, Joe DeLamielleure, the Bill's Hall of Fame guard, said that "Randy was a great linebacker" and that he definitely belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was tough, clever, and he played every downhill, as well. I can tell you that he was incredibly difficult to detect."

Proscout, Inc.'s Mike Giddings said "Gradishar" could cover the "Y" apartment on a weakside linebacker blitzed. Only Gradishar and Lambert could do that in recent years. In addition, coach Joe Collier will have unique coverage on a strong-side blitz in which Gradishar, the right inside linebacker, would be expected to cover the tight end, man-to-man, on any "up" route in the "seam," which will be on the opposing side of the linebacker's line. According to Giddings, Gradishar "could" and did, he'd have to get proper depth while going across the field and an angle to do so.

He was elected by a committee of former NFL players and coaches to Pro Football Weekly's All-Time 3-4 defensive team in January 2008, alongside Harry Carson, Lawrence Taylor, Andre Tippett, Howie Long, Lee Roy Selmon, and Curley Culp.

Gradishar played for 335 yards and three touchdowns during his career in 1983, finishing his career with a record for most tackles all time, with 2,049, and 20 interceptions. He also recovered 13 fumbles, returning them for 72 yards and one touchdown. According to Bronco team reports, he had 20 sacks. Since his inception, he has been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame several times, but has yet to be honoured. He was one of the top finalists in 2003 and 2008, and he was one of the top ten finalists in 2005 and 2007. He was the closest he came to induction the day before the 2003 Super Bowl, when he made it to the list of final ten.

In 1989, Gradishar was inducted into the Broncos' Ring of Fame. In 1987, He was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. Gradishar was appointed to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2008.

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