Michael Nathaniel Oliphant (born May 19, 1963) 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 was 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 ...

in 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) for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. He also played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) for the

Sacramento Gold Miners The Sacramento Gold Miners were a Canadian football team based in Sacramento, California. The franchise was the first American team in the Canadian Football League. The Gold Miners inherited a home stadium, front office staff, and much of the ro ...

and

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

Early life

Oliphant was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. He attended

Auburn Senior High School Auburn High School, formerly Auburn Senior High School, is a public high school in Auburn, Washington, United States, founded in 1903. The school is situated on of land in downtown Auburn. Its campus includes the Auburn Performing Arts Center (PA ...

Auburn, Washington Auburn is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States (with a small portion crossing into neighboring Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County). The population was 87,256 at the 2020 United States ...

, then transferred to Federal Way High School in

Federal Way, Washington Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States and part of the Seattle metropolitan area. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Feder ...

midway through his junior year. He did not play varsity high school football.

College career

Oliphant 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 the NAIA Division I

University of Puget Sound The University of Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1888. The institution offers a variety of undergraduate degrees as well as five graduate programs in counseling, education, oc ...

, where he was a NAIA

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in 1986. That year, he also set school records for most points scored in one game and most points scored in a season. Oliphant graduated in 1988.

Professional career

Oliphant was selected in the third round of the 1988 NFL draft by the

. He was traded to the

in 1989 for Earnest Byner. He was in Cleveland for three seasons, spending all of 1990 and 12 games of 1991 on injured-reserve status with hamstring injuries. He was signed by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

in 1992, but was released before the start of the season. He finished his career in the CFL with the

and the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliphant, Mike 1963 births Living people American football running backs Cleveland Browns players Puget Sound Loggers football players Sacramento Gold Miners players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Washington Redskins players Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida Players of Canadian football from Jacksonville, Florida