Tyrone Thurman

American football player (born 1966)

American football player

Tyrone ThurmanPersonal information

Born:|  (1966-12-31) December 31, 1966 (age 57)
Height:| 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Weight:| 150 lb (68 kg)
Career information
High school:| Robert E. Lee (Midland, Texas)
College:| Texas Tech
Position:| Wide receiver
Undrafted:| 1989
Career history

* Dallas Cowboys (1989)*
* Ottawa Rough Riders (1990–1991)[1]
* Dallas Texans (1992–1993)
* Las Vegas Sting (1994)
* Connecticut Coyotes (1995)
* Texas Terror (1996)

* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards

* First-team All-American (1988)[2]
* 2× First-team All-SWC (1986, 1988)
* Smallest Division I (NCAA) football player during his career[3]

Career Arena statistics
| Receptions:| 263

|

Receiving yards:| 2,956
Receiving TDs:| 32
Kick returns-yards:| 224-3,774
Kick return TDs:| 7
Player stats at ArenaFan.com

Tyrone Thurman (born December 31, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, earning first-team All-American honors as a kick returner in 1988.

## Career

[edit]

### High school

[edit]

Thurman played at the running back position at Robert E. Lee High School in Midland, Texas under coach Spike Dykes.[3]

### College

[edit]

Due to his small size at 5' 4" and 126 pounds, Thurman received little interest from Division I schools before being recruited to Texas Tech University with the hiring of his former high school coach Spike Dykes as the defensive coordinator for the Red Raiders in 1984.[4] Thurman would play at the wide receiver position, but earned his accolades as a punt returner.

Thurman would play from 1985-1988, and earned Associated Press All-American 1st Team honors as a kick returner during his senior year in 1988.[2] Thurman concluded his career holding several school records including longest punt return at 96 yards, return yards in a season (444 in 1986), returns in a career (126) and yards in a career (1,466).[2] Several records still stand in 2013, with some having been broken by Mosi Tatupu Award winner Wes Welker.[5]

### Professional

[edit]

Thurman went undrafted in 1989 before being signed as a free agent for the Dallas Cowboys. He was cut from the roster before the 1989 season began and spent several years in both the Canadian Football League and the Arena Football League playing for teams including the Ottawa Rough Riders,[1] Dallas Texans (Arena), Las Vegas Sting, Connecticut Coyotes and Texas Terror.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Connor, Desmond (May 12, 1995). "An Arena That's All Their Own". Hartford Courant. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
2. ^ a b c "Texas Tech Announces Hall of Honor Inductees" (Press release). Texas Tech University. September 12, 2002. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
3. ^ a b Fernandez, Bernard. "No Tall Tale At 5-2 3/4, Thurman Makes Big Impact At Texas Tech". Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
4. ^ Dykes, Spike (2004). Spike Dykes's Tales from the Texas Tech Sideline. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing. p. 77\. ISBN 1-58261-265-X.
5. ^ "2013 Record Book" (PDF). Texas Tech University. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 14, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2013.