Leeland McElroy
Encyclopedia
Leeland McElroy is a former professional American football
player who played running back
for two seasons for the Arizona Cardinals
.
In '95, A&M was coming off a 10-0-1 season and top-10 ranking, with most of their starters returning for their upperclassmen years. Corey Pullig
was a senior quarterback, McElroy was a Heisman Trophy candidate as a junior, and an experienced defense paved the way for Playboy
and The Sporting News
to rank A&M No. 1 in the preseason.
The Aggies began the season with impressive wins over LSU
(in which McElroy ran for 229 yards, 5th in Aggie history for a single game) and Tulsa, and took a #3 ranking to Boulder to face the #5 Colorado
with A&M mounting a "'Lectric Leeland" Heisman marketing campaign. McElroy played poorly and the Aggies lost a disappointing game. A&M tipped passes for interceptions, receiver Chris Sanders dropped a sure touchdown on a screen pass across a wide-open middle of the field, and future NFL fullback Detron Smith
dropped a sure huge gain on a swing pass in the flat. Star linebacker Reggie Brown
even blew a coverage at the end zone, giving up a circus-catch touchdown.
Another poor performance followed, along with another Aggie loss against Texas Tech
in Lubbock the following week. McElroy rushed for 1,122 yards (112.2 per game) and 1709 all-purpose yards (2nd for a single season in Aggie history by just 30 yards) that season, but completely missed two games and sat out parts of others as a result of injuries. The Aggies finished 9-3 with a win against Michigan
in the Alamo Bowl, but with those two losses as well as a home loss to rival Texas, the season that began with National Championship hopes was considered a disappointment by Aggie fans. For McElroy, the injuries, along with several less than spectacular performances against Colorado, Texas Tech, Baylor and Houston, turned a season that began with Heisman hopes into a fall filled with frustration.
After his junior season, McElroy declared early for the NFL draft
. In spite of his spectacular junior year, injury concerns caused McElroy to drop in the draft. Although projected to be a first round pick, he instead holds the dubious distinction of being the lowest picked player to attend the NFL draft. McElroy was selected in second round in 1996
by the Arizona Cardinals
at number thirty-two. He has become somewhat of a cautionary tale against football players leaving school early. Aggie head Coach R. C. Slocum
and others speculated that if McElroy had returned in 1996, he would have benefited from playing with a more prolific passer in Branndon Stewart
and probably would have faced less eight-man defensive fronts. These factors along with the additional experience might have resulted in McElroy's Heisman hopes coming to fruition and his entering the draft a more seasoned, more complete back. In later interviews, McElroy would caution college players in his own mold against declaring for the draft when he said, "I’d tell them to evaluate the situation and consider every, every single option. The money is enticing, but nothing’s for sure at this level. I’m a prime example of that."
McElroy did make his mark at A&M and will always be fondly remembered by Aggie fans for his electrifying runs and returns. McElroy was a threat to take the football the length of the field every time he touched it. He was a first-team selection on the Football Writers Association of America All-America team in 1994 and was a first-team Associated Press
All-American all-purpose back in 1995. One of the fastest runners in college football history, McElroy set several NCAA records for kickoff returns in his career including most returns for a touchdown in one game and most returns for touchdowns in a single season. His final career average (36.3) set the NCAA record. He was a first-team selection on the Football Writers Association of America All-America team in 1994. He holds the Texas A&M record for average all-purpose yards per game with 135. He is also tied for the longest kickoff return in A&M history (100 yards, which he did twice).
LeShon Johnson took over the starting duties in week 5, and McElroy was relegated to backup and special teams. Overall, McElroy had just 86 yards on 38 carries in the Cardinals’ first seven games and finished with 305 yards on 89 carries. 1997 was not much better. McElroy opened the season as the Cardinals' starting tailback and averaged 18 carries in the first five games. He scored both his touchdowns that year in the first two games and after rushing for 281 yards in the first five games, he managed just 143 the rest of the year. Although he led the Cardinals in rushing, he finished with just 424 yards on 135 carries - a paltry 3.14 yards per carry.
After averaging 21.3 yards on 51 kickoff returns in 1996, McElroy did not field a single kickoff in 1997, surrendering those duties to Kevin Williams
, who averaged 24.7 in his place.
The Cardinals released McElroy and he was claimed off waivers in July 1998 by Tampa Bay, and made an instant impact with a spectacular touchdown run in the Hall of Fame Game against the Steelers. He played well, rushing 27 times for 121 yards and a TD in the preseason, but the Bucs were deep at running back and McElroy's specialty was kickoff returns, where Tampa already featured Reidel Anthony
and Warrick Dunn
. Tony Dungy said that "[at that] point it would be best to give him a chance to maybe hook on with someone else, and he had such an impressive preseason, [they hoped] for him for that to be the case." Unfortunately it would not be so. Although he spent the 1999 preseason with the Denver Broncos
and was picked up later that season by the Indianapolis Colts
, a combination of injuries and misfortune ensured that McElroy never played again in the NFL.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who played running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
for two seasons for the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
High School and College
In 1995, McElroy became the undisputed starter — his only year to start at running back at A&M.In '95, A&M was coming off a 10-0-1 season and top-10 ranking, with most of their starters returning for their upperclassmen years. Corey Pullig
Corey Pullig
Corey Pullig is a former quarterback for Texas A&M University who went on to play professionally for the Arena Football League's Grand Rapids Rampage and Buffalo Destroyers.-High school career:...
was a senior quarterback, McElroy was a Heisman Trophy candidate as a junior, and an experienced defense paved the way for Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
and The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
to rank A&M No. 1 in the preseason.
The Aggies began the season with impressive wins over LSU
LSU Tigers
The LSU Tigers are the athletic teams of Louisiana State University. They participate in the NCAA's Division I, in the Southeastern Conference. It fields teams in 14 varsity sports . Its official team nickname is the Fighting Tigers and the school mascot is Mike the Tiger...
(in which McElroy ran for 229 yards, 5th in Aggie history for a single game) and Tulsa, and took a #3 ranking to Boulder to face the #5 Colorado
Colorado Buffaloes
The University of Colorado Boulder sponsors 16 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's team are called the Buffaloes or Golden Buffaloes . "Lady Buffs" referred to the women's teams beginning in the 1970s, but was officially dropped in 1993...
with A&M mounting a "'Lectric Leeland" Heisman marketing campaign. McElroy played poorly and the Aggies lost a disappointing game. A&M tipped passes for interceptions, receiver Chris Sanders dropped a sure touchdown on a screen pass across a wide-open middle of the field, and future NFL fullback Detron Smith
Detron Smith
Detron Smith was an American football fullback in the NFL. He played mainly for the Denver Broncos. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1999.-High School and College:...
dropped a sure huge gain on a swing pass in the flat. Star linebacker Reggie Brown
Reggie Brown (linebacker)
Reginald Wayne "Reggie" Brown is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League. He played with the Detroit Lions for his short career, which ran throughout the 1996 and 1997 seasons.- NFL career :...
even blew a coverage at the end zone, giving up a circus-catch touchdown.
Another poor performance followed, along with another Aggie loss against Texas Tech
Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Texas Tech Red Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University . The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders; however, the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raiders" name. The university's athletic program fields teams in 15 varsity sports and 30 club sports...
in Lubbock the following week. McElroy rushed for 1,122 yards (112.2 per game) and 1709 all-purpose yards (2nd for a single season in Aggie history by just 30 yards) that season, but completely missed two games and sat out parts of others as a result of injuries. The Aggies finished 9-3 with a win against Michigan
Michigan Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines comprise 27 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except men's ice hockey which competes in the NCAA D1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and women's water polo, which...
in the Alamo Bowl, but with those two losses as well as a home loss to rival Texas, the season that began with National Championship hopes was considered a disappointment by Aggie fans. For McElroy, the injuries, along with several less than spectacular performances against Colorado, Texas Tech, Baylor and Houston, turned a season that began with Heisman hopes into a fall filled with frustration.
After his junior season, McElroy declared early for the NFL draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
. In spite of his spectacular junior year, injury concerns caused McElroy to drop in the draft. Although projected to be a first round pick, he instead holds the dubious distinction of being the lowest picked player to attend the NFL draft. McElroy was selected in second round in 1996
1996 NFL Draft
The 1996 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 20–21, 1996...
by the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
at number thirty-two. He has become somewhat of a cautionary tale against football players leaving school early. Aggie head Coach R. C. Slocum
R. C. Slocum
Richard Copeland Slocum , better known as R. C. Slocum, was the head football coach at Texas A&M University from 1989 until 2002. He has won more games as coach than anyone else in Texas A&M football history.-Personal:...
and others speculated that if McElroy had returned in 1996, he would have benefited from playing with a more prolific passer in Branndon Stewart
Branndon Stewart
Branndon Stewart is a former American football player. He played quarterback for the University of Tennessee and Texas A&M University.- High school career :...
and probably would have faced less eight-man defensive fronts. These factors along with the additional experience might have resulted in McElroy's Heisman hopes coming to fruition and his entering the draft a more seasoned, more complete back. In later interviews, McElroy would caution college players in his own mold against declaring for the draft when he said, "I’d tell them to evaluate the situation and consider every, every single option. The money is enticing, but nothing’s for sure at this level. I’m a prime example of that."
McElroy did make his mark at A&M and will always be fondly remembered by Aggie fans for his electrifying runs and returns. McElroy was a threat to take the football the length of the field every time he touched it. He was a first-team selection on the Football Writers Association of America All-America team in 1994 and was a first-team Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
All-American all-purpose back in 1995. One of the fastest runners in college football history, McElroy set several NCAA records for kickoff returns in his career including most returns for a touchdown in one game and most returns for touchdowns in a single season. His final career average (36.3) set the NCAA record. He was a first-team selection on the Football Writers Association of America All-America team in 1994. He holds the Texas A&M record for average all-purpose yards per game with 135. He is also tied for the longest kickoff return in A&M history (100 yards, which he did twice).
NFL
In his rookie NFL season, 1996, McElroy started for the Cardinals in the season opener against the Indianapolis Colts, rushing for 63 yards on 17 carries, but struggled in the second week against Miami, when he carried six times for negative five yards. The next week against New England, he had just 11 yards on eight carries, and against New Orleans in the fourth week of the season, McElroy was replaced in the lineup after gaining just five yards on four carries.LeShon Johnson took over the starting duties in week 5, and McElroy was relegated to backup and special teams. Overall, McElroy had just 86 yards on 38 carries in the Cardinals’ first seven games and finished with 305 yards on 89 carries. 1997 was not much better. McElroy opened the season as the Cardinals' starting tailback and averaged 18 carries in the first five games. He scored both his touchdowns that year in the first two games and after rushing for 281 yards in the first five games, he managed just 143 the rest of the year. Although he led the Cardinals in rushing, he finished with just 424 yards on 135 carries - a paltry 3.14 yards per carry.
After averaging 21.3 yards on 51 kickoff returns in 1996, McElroy did not field a single kickoff in 1997, surrendering those duties to Kevin Williams
Kevin Williams (wide receiver)
Kevin Ray Williams is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League who played for the Dallas Cowboys, the Arizona Cardinals, the Buffalo Bills, and the San Francisco 49ers....
, who averaged 24.7 in his place.
The Cardinals released McElroy and he was claimed off waivers in July 1998 by Tampa Bay, and made an instant impact with a spectacular touchdown run in the Hall of Fame Game against the Steelers. He played well, rushing 27 times for 121 yards and a TD in the preseason, but the Bucs were deep at running back and McElroy's specialty was kickoff returns, where Tampa already featured Reidel Anthony
Reidel Anthony
Reidel Clarence Anthony is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League for five seasons in the 1990s and early 2000s...
and Warrick Dunn
Warrick Dunn
Warrick De'Mon Dunn is a former American football running back, and current minority owner of the Atlanta Falcons. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12th overall in the 1997 NFL Draft, after playing college football at Florida State...
. Tony Dungy said that "[at that] point it would be best to give him a chance to maybe hook on with someone else, and he had such an impressive preseason, [they hoped] for him for that to be the case." Unfortunately it would not be so. Although he spent the 1999 preseason with the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and was picked up later that season by the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
, a combination of injuries and misfortune ensured that McElroy never played again in the NFL.