Marviel Underwood (born February 17, 1982) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. He was selected by 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 ...

in the fourth round of the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

. 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 ...

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

. Underwood was also a member of the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

, and California Redwoods.

Early life

Underwood attended

San Leandro High School San Leandro High School (SLHS) is a four-year public high school in San Leandro, California, USA. Academics Academic courses include Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors courses. SLHS has specialized programs, including the Academy of Business & ...

San Leandro, California San Leandro (Spanish language, Spanish for "Leander of Seville, St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland, California, Oakland to the northwe ...

, where he earned numerous local awards, including All-Hayward Area Athletic League first-team honors as both a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

(1998 and 1999) and

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

(1999). In his senior year, he rushed for 1,300 yards and 18

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

, had 3 touchdowns on 4

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

, and returned 2 kickoffs for touchdowns. His school's rivalry was with

Bishop O'Dowd High School Bishop O'Dowd High School is a Catholic, co-educational, college preparatory school in Oakland, California, administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland and named after the late auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, ...

. Ironically, linebacker

Kirk Morrison Kirk David Morrison (born February 19, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the San Diego State Aztecs. Morrison was selected by the ...

attended Bishop O'Dowd. The two would later attend

College career

, Underwood was named honorable mention All-

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

his junior and senior seasons. He finished his college career with 222

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

(135 solo), 1

sack A sack usually refers to a rectangular-shaped bag. Sack may also refer to: Bags * Flour sack * Gunny sack * Hacky sack, sport * Money sack * Paper sack * Sleeping bag * Stuff sack * Knapsack Other uses * Bed, a slang term * Sack (band), ...

, 8 tackles for loss, 3 forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

s, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 touchdown on 7 interceptions. While at San Diego State, Underwood help create an Aztec Defence with

of the

, Matt McCoy of 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 ...

Heath Farwell Heath Charles Farwell (born December 31, 1981) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the special teams coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Farwell played college football for the ...

of the Minnesota Vikings, and Jonathan Bailes.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Marviel was selected in the fourth round (115th pick overall) of the

by the Green Bay Packers. In July 2005, he agreed to a four-year contract with the Packers, which included a $430,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. His 2006

salary cap In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Seve ...

value was $457,500. Backing up his fellow rookie & teammate,

Nick Collins Nicholas Cordell Collins (born August 16, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for seven seasons with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Bethune ...

, Underwood appeared in all 16 regular-season games during the 2005 season. Misfortune hit Underwood when he tore two ligaments in his right knee in a preseason game against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

. He missed the

2006 NFL season The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006. The season began with the reigning Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh Steelers defeati ...

after being placed on

injured reserve 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 ...

. On August 20, 2007, the Packers released Underwood, signing rookie fullback Erryn Cobb in his place. After spending over two months as a free agent, Underwood was re-signed by the Packers on November 25 when

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

Colin Cole was placed on

. Although Underwood wore No. 25 during his first two seasons in Green Bay, the number was taken by

Ryan Grant after Underwood's release. Upon his re-signing, Underwood was assigned No. 43. The following week, on November 30, Underwood was released again when quarterback Craig Nall was re-signed due to an injury to

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 cons ...

Denver Broncos

On December 5, 2007, Underwood signed with the

. He was waived by the team on May 28, 2008.

Oakland Raiders

Underwood was signed by the

on August 25, 2008. He was waived by the team on August 30.

California Redwoods

Underwood was drafted by the California Redwoods of the United Football League in the 2009 UFL Premiere Season Draft. He signed with the team on September 2. He was placed on

on November 5.

References

External links

Oakland Raiders bioUnited Football League bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Marviel 1982 births Living people Players of American football from Oakland, California American football safeties San Diego State Aztecs football players Green Bay Packers players Denver Broncos players Oakland Raiders players Sacramento Mountain Lions players San Leandro High School alumni