David Hyland (born May 30, 1987) is an

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ar ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who is currently a free agent.

College career

Hyland played college football at

Morehead State University Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-year residential e ...

('05-'08) and appeared in 44 games in which he had 21 interceptions and 319 return yards to go along with three touchdowns. He also set a Division I-AA record with 61 career pass knockdowns. Hyland holds school records for longest interception return, most interceptions in a season and most interceptions in a career. In addition, he tied the school record for most interceptions in a game with three. In 2007, Hyland also earned All-America honors from The Sports Network and Football Gazette.

Professional career

Hyland joined the

Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz were an arena football team. The team began play as a 2004 expansion team of the Arena Football League's minor league af2 before becoming a member of the AFL in 2010. Formerly a tenant of the Ford Center from 2004 ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL) in 2010, where he tallied eight interceptions in his rookie campaign. He led Oklahoma City in tackles and interceptions in his rookie year. His team also voted him as their Defensive Most Valuable Player. He was signed by the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on September 7, 2010. After his release from BC, Hyland was signed to the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

. He joined the AFL's

Utah Blaze The Utah Blaze was a professional arena football team based in Salt Lake City, Utah and competed in the West Division of the Arena Football League. Home games were played at the EnergySolutions Arena. In 2013, the team did not submit proper do ...

in 2012. Hyland would play for the Blaze for two seasons (2012 and 2013). In the former season, the Blaze reached the AFL's Conference Championship Game, which they narrowly lost to the

Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League a ...

. Hyland's tenure with the Blaze would end abruptly, as the team folded at the conclusion of the 2013 season. Hyland then joined the

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

. In 2014, despite missing ten of the team's eighteen regular-season games, he tallied 3 interceptions and 32 tackles. In the first round of the playoffs, the SaberCats faced off against the

Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won div ...

. During the game, Hyland intercepted eventual teammate

Erik Meyer Erik Meyer (born December 28, 1982) is a former professional American football quarterback. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Eastern Washington. He was also a member of the ...

; he returned the intercepted ball thirty yards in a 55-28 SaberCats victory. The SaberCats, however, would lose to the defending champion

one week later. In the 2015 regular season, Hyland recorded 4 interceptions and 76 tackles for the SaberCats. In the 2015 playoffs, the SaberCats advanced to

ArenaBowl XXVIII ArenaBowl XXVIII was the championship game of the 2015 Arena Football League season. It was played between the American Conference Champion Jacksonville Sharks and the National Conference Champion San Jose SaberCats. The game was played at Stockto ...

; there, Hyland forced two crucial turnovers against the opposing

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional Indoor American football, indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members o ...

. Near the end of the third quarter, with the SaberCats holding a razor-thin 34-33 edge, Hyland intercepted Sharks quarterback (and former Blaze teammate)

Tommy Grady Thomas Grady (born March 18, 1985) is an American football quarterback who primarily played in the Arena Football League (AFL). After a standout high school career at Edison High School, Grady signed with the University of Oklahoma to continu ...

deep in Jacksonville territory and returned it back for a touchdown to take a 41-33 lead. Minutes later, Hyland caught a kick that had deflected off the net; in running the ball in for a touchdown, he extended the SaberCats' lead to 55-33. The SaberCats would go on to win the game by a score of 68-47. For his efforts, Hyland was named the Defensive Player of the Game, and Iron Man of the Game. Hyland was also awarded the 2015 AL Lucas AFL Pulse Hero Award for his off-field activities. The award "is presented annually to the player who makes the most significant contribution to both his community and the game of Arena Football." On November 5, 2015, Hyland was assigned to the SaberCats for 2016. On March 10, 2016, Hyland was assigned to the

. On July 18, 2018, Hyland was assigned to the

Baltimore Brigade The Baltimore Brigade was a professional arena football team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that played in the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2017 to 2019. The team's home arena was the Royal Farms Arena. The franchise was owned by Monumental Spo ...

References

External links

BC Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyland, David 1987 births Living people People from Woodstock, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football defensive backs Morehead State Eagles football players Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz players Utah Blaze players San Jose SaberCats players Jacksonville Sharks players Baltimore Brigade players American players of Canadian football Canadian football defensive backs BC Lions players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players