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 ...

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