Dana Albert Nafziger (born October 26, 1953) 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 played five seasons with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
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).
Early life
Nafziger was born on October 26, 1953, in
Woodstock, Illinois
Woodstock is a city in and the county seat of McHenry County, Illinois, McHenry County, Illinois, United States. It is located 51 miles northwest of Chicago, making it one of the city's outer-most suburbs. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...
. He attended
Western High School in
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...
.
College career
Playing
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 ...
at
California Polytechnic State University
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or Cal Poly) is a public university in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, - Cites the location of the university and shows that the university ...
, Nafziger was recognized as a skilled
blocking tight end and graduated with 63 career catches for 892 yards and seven touchdowns.
Following his senior season of 1976, he earned all-conference accolades from the
CCAA as well as
AP Little All-America status.
Professional career
Nafziger was signed by Tampa Bay in September 1977. While originally worked out as a prospective
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 ...
, the Buccaneers soon moved him to tight end and also utilized him heavily on
special teams
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
. He was part of the
1979 Tampa Bay squad which advanced to the
NFC Championship Game
The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semifinal National Football League playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional Ame ...
, producing two sacks and a pair of fumble recoveries for the
Central Division champions that fall.
During the
1981 season, as the franchise again made the playoffs, Nafziger led the club with 22 special teams tackles for the year.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nafziger, Dana
Living people
1953 births
American football tight ends
American football linebackers
Cal Poly Mustangs football players
California Polytechnic State University alumni
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players
Sportspeople from Woodstock, Illinois
Players of American football from McHenry County, Illinois
20th-century American sportsmen