''For the Scottish footballer, see Billy Lyon (footballer).'' William Morton Lyon (born December 10, 1973) 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 ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

who played for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

of 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

Marshall Thundering Herd The Marshall Thundering Herd is the intercollegiate athletic collection of teams that collectively represent the Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Thundering Herd athletic teams compete in the Sun Belt Conference, which are memb ...

. He signed with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

after going undrafted in 1997 but was waived before the start of the regular season. Lyon later joined the Packers' practice squad in 1997 and played in 59 games for the team from 1998 to 2002. He also appeared in 13 games for the Minnesota Vikings in 2003.

Early life

William Morton Lyon was born on December 10, 1973, in

Ashland, Kentucky Ashland is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in Boyd County, Ashland is located upon the southern bank of the Ohio River at the state border with Ohio and near West ...

. He attended Lloyd Memorial High School in

Erlanger, Kentucky Erlanger is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. It had a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 19,611. Erlanger is part of the Cincinnati metropoli ...

College career

Lyon played

for the

from 1993 to 1996 and was a three-year starter. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 1992 as the team won the national championship. Lyon helped the Thundering Herd advance to the national championship game his junior year in 1995 by recording a career-high 13 tackles, including one safety, in the team's semifinal victory over McNeese State. He totaled 91 tackles and nine sacks his senior season in 1996 as the Thundering Herd went 15–0 and won the national championship. Lyon was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

After going undrafted in the 1997 NFL draft, Lyon signed with the

on April 28, 1997. He was waived on August 15, 1997.

Green Bay Packers

Lyon was signed to the practice squad of the

on November 20, 1997. He re-signed with the team on January 28, 1998. He appeared in four games in 1998, recording four solo tackles, two assisted tackles, and one sack. Lyon also appeared in one playoff game that year but recorded no statistics. Lyon appeared in all 16 games, starting four, for the Packers in 1999, accumulating 12 solo tackles, seven assisted tackles, two sacks, one interception, and two pass breakups. He played in 11 games, starting one, during the 2000 season, recording seven solo tackles, four assisted tackles, and one sack. He played in 12 games in 2001, totaling 13 solo tackles, six assisted tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble, and one pass breakup. He also appeared in two playoff games that season and made three solo tackles. Lyon played in 16 games, starting two, during his final season for the Packers in 2002, recording 11 solo tackles, four assisted tackles, and two sacks. He became a free agent after the 2002 season. Overall, he appeared in 59 regular season games, starting seven, for the Packers, and made 70 combined tackles and eight sacks.

Minnesota Vikings

Lyon signed with the

on March 5, 2003. He appeared in 13 games for the Vikings during the 2003, accumulating four solo tackles and one assisted tackle. He was released on August 31, 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyon, Billy 1973 births Living people Sportspeople from Ashland, Kentucky Players of American football from Kentucky American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Marshall Thundering Herd football players Green Bay Packers players Minnesota Vikings players 20th-century American sportsmen Kansas City Chiefs players