Steve Atwater
| No. 27 | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Safety | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Date of birth: | October 28, 1966 | ||||||||||
| Place of birth: | Chicago, Illinois | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 218 lb (99 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | St. Louis (MO) Lutheran North | ||||||||||
| College: | Arkansas | ||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1989 / Round: 1 / Pick: 20 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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| Tackles: | 1,180 |
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| Interceptions: | 24 |
| Interception yards: | 408 |
| Sacks: | 5 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Stephen Dennis Atwater (born October 28, 1966) is a former American football player who spent most of his career playing free safety for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Atwater and Dennis Smith made up a Broncos secondary that was known for their ferocious hits on opposing players. He was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time Super Bowl champion.
He attended Lutheran High School North in St. Louis, Missouri and was the school's top athlete. He was also the only player to ever win a Super Bowl out of that school. Atwater was selected all-conference and league Most Valuable Player as an option style quarterback. He credits his coach there, Mike Russell, as serving as a mentor for him both as a football player and becoming an exemplary citizen. Atwater also is sixth on Lutheran North's all-time passing yards in a season with 1,097 yards in his junior year.
Atwater signed with the University of Arkansas, where he was moved from quarterback to safety. He was named to the All-Southwest Conference team three times and named as an All-American twice. Atwater finished as the Razorbacks' all-time leader in interceptions with 14.
Helping Atwater's stock as a pro prospect was his appearance in the East-West Shrine Game, where he logged two interceptions. He was also named defensive most valuable player in the 1989 East-West Shrine Game.
He still holds the school record with 14 INT in his career.
In 1994, Atwater was named to the Razorback All-Century Team and the All-Decade Team for the 1980s. He was inducted into the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor in 1998.
Atwater was drafted out of the University of Arkansas by the Broncos with the 20th pick in the first round of the 1989 NFL Draft. The Broncos began the draft with the 13th overall pick and were hoping to upgrade their defense which had ranked 27th (out of a possible 28) against the run the previous year. Knowing that Atwater would be available in the later parts of the first round, the Broncos traded down to the 20th overall pick owned by the Cleveland Browns who selected Eric Metcalf with Denver's 13th overall pick.
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