Morris "Moe" Gardner, Jr. (born August 10, 1968) is a former professional American football

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...

 defensive tackle in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. He played six seasons for the Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 (1991–1996). Moe Gardner graduated from Cathedral High School

Cathedral High School (Indianapolis)

Cathedral High School is a private, Catholic institution in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. There are over 1,200 students in grades 9 to 12. It once was located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, and was run independently by the Brothers of Holy Cross...

 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

 where he went on to become a two-time consensus All-American

College Football All-America Team

The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...

 in 1989

1989 College Football All-America Team

The 1989 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Football Writers Association of America,...

 and 1990

1990 College Football All-America Team

The 1990 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following All-American Teams: Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Football Writers Association of America, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, Scripps-Howard, The...

. He was selected as the only active player named to Illinois' All-Century team in 1990 and ranks second in school history in career tackles

Tackle (football move)

Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....

 for loss. He was named Big Ten

Big Ten Conference

The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

 Defensive Player of the Year earning the honor in both 1989 and 1990. He was also named as a finalist for both the Outland Trophy

Outland Trophy

The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best United States college football interior lineman by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named All-America at two positions, Outland garnered consensus All-America honors in...

 and the Lombardi Award

Lombardi Award

The Rotary Lombardi Award is awarded annually to the best college football lineman or linebacker. The Lombardi Award program was approved by the Rotary Club in Houston in 1970 shortly after the death of Vince Lombardi. The committee outlined the criteria for eligibility for the award, which...

. Gardner was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 1991

1991 NFL Draft

The 1991 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 21–22, 1991 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Manhattan, New York...

. 1993 is arguably considered to be his strongest season. That year, he recorded 128 tackles leading the Falcons’ defensive linemen and finishing second overall on the team.