Mark Sander
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Mark Leonard Sander (born March 21, 1968) 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 ...
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 ...
who appeared in 12 games (2 starts) for the
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of the
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(NFL) in 1992. 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 ...
at
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
and holds the program record for career tackles.


College career

Sander originally walked on to the
Louisville Cardinals football The Louisville Cardinals football team represents the University of Louisville in the sport of American football. The Cardinals compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and compete i ...
team. After redshirting in 1986, Sander became a four-year starter for the Cardinals. He was a 1988, 1989 First Team All-South Independent. On the morning of November 23, 1990, Sander was stabbed in the abdomen while attempting to break up a fight outside of a Louisville bar. He had previously worked as a bouncer at the bar and noticed some friends involved in an altercation shortly after arriving. Sander had to undergo four hours of surgery, which required 23 staples, and lost 10 pounds during his stay in the hospital. In his first interview following the incident on December 3, he claimed that he would be ready to return in time for their
Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971. From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has be ...
matchup against
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
. Sander started in the 34–7 win and passed Doug Buffone to become the school's career tackles leader with 492. Sander graduated with a degree in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
.


Professional career

After going undrafted in the
1991 NFL draft The 1991 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 April 21–22, 1991, at the Marriott Ma ...
due to his size and perceived lack of speed, Sander was signed as a
free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...
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 spent the 1991 season on the
practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...
. In 1992, Sander filled in for an injured
John Offerdahl John Arnold Offerdahl (born August 17, 1964) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire eight-year career as a linebacker for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for t ...
at the starting inside linebacker position. In his first game of meaningful action, he recorded nine tackles against the
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. Two weeks later, in just his second start, Sander recorded a game-high nine tackles in a
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loss to the
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, staying in the game after breaking his right hand in the second quarter. It was later discovered that he suffered a broken wrist as well. Sander was placed on the
injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...
on December 2, 1992. He was subsequently placed on the physically unable to perform list in August 1993. He was then cut in November.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandler, Mark Living people 1968 births American football linebackers Players of American football from Kentucky Miami Dolphins players Louisville Cardinals football players Players of American football from Louisville, Kentucky DeSales High School (Louisville, Kentucky) alumni