AJ Duhe
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Adam Joseph Duhe Jr. (born November 27, 1955) is an American former professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
and
defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
for eight seasons with the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
from 1977 to 1984 in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). He played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers (also known as the Fighting Tigers) are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiat ...
.


Early life

Born in Reserve, Louisiana, Duhe played football at Leon Godchaux High School on offense and defense, earning selections for All-District on both sides in his senior year, with him serving as defensive end and punter. He enrolled at
Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
and starred as defensive tackle for the Tigers with an All-SEC and All-Academic honors.


Career

He was drafted in the first round of the
1977 NFL draft The 1977 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 May 3–4, 1977, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...
by the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
. He was the AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in his
rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...
year; unofficially, in his rookie year at Miami, he recorded seven sacks while recording 83 tackles. He was a one-time
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...
er, in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
. He switched from
defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
to
inside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...
in 1980. In the 1982 AFC Championship game, Duhe intercepted
Richard Todd Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd (11 June 19193 December 2009) was an Irish-British actor known for his leading man roles of the 1950s. He received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, and an Academy Award for Best Actor n ...
three times as the Dolphins defeated the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
14–0. He returned the third interception 35 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal Miami's trip to
Super Bowl XVII Super Bowl XVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
. He also recorded an interception in the Super Bowl that year. His last season saw the Dolphins reach
Super Bowl XIX Super Bowl XIX was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
(with him starting eight games and playing in four others due to grueling workouts from him), but he played for only a small portion due to a knee problem that left him unable to move laterally and a shoulder with diminished hitting capacity. By the time he was 29, he had already gone through four surgeries for problems with torn ligaments and shoulders. In August 1985, the Dolphins placed him on medical waivers and released (which meant he received just over twenty percent of his planned $275,000 salary).


Personal life and honors

Duhe also has done work as an actor. Duhe was inducted into the
Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (LHOF) is an hall of fame exhibit that honors the accomplishments of athletes, coaches and other sports figures in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located in a facility in the downtown historic district of the city ...
in 2001 and the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 2018. As of that year, he was working for
Caesars Entertainment Caesars Entertainment, Inc., formerly Eldorado Resorts, Inc., is an American hotel and casino entertainment company founded and based in Reno, Nevada, that operates more than 50 properties. Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment Corpora ...
while residing in
Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...
with his wife, with whom he has three children.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duhe, A. J. 1955 births Living people Players of American football from New Orleans American football linebackers LSU Tigers football players Miami Dolphins players NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year winners American Conference Pro Bowl players Rhein Fire coaches People from St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana American expatriate sportspeople in Germany