Robert Gerard DeVita (born November 29, 1965) 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 played one season with 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 ...

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). 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 ...

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University (EIU) is a public university in Charleston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradual ...

and Illinois Benedictine College. DeVita was also member of the Denver Dynamite and

Los Angeles Cobras The Los Angeles Cobras were a professional arena football team based in Los Angeles, California that played one season (1988) in the Arena Football League. History On March 16, 1988, it was announced that team would be nicknamed the Cobras, as ...

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 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL).

Early life and college

Robert Gerard DeVita was born on November 29, 1965, in

Winfield, Illinois Winfield is an incorporated village located in Milton Township, DuPage County, Illinois, Milton and Winfield Township, DuPage County, Illinois, Winfield Townships, DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The DuPage River ...

. He attended Wheaton Central High School in

Wheaton, Illinois Wheaton is a city in and the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It is located in Milton and Winfield Townships, approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, Wheaton's population was 53,970, making it the 27th-mos ...

. DeVita first played

for the

Eastern Illinois Panthers The Eastern Illinois Panthers are the intercollegiate athletic programs of Eastern Illinois University (EIU) located in Charleston, Illinois, United States. The Panthers athletic program competes at the NCAA Division I level and is a member of th ...

. He studied biology/health sciences while at Eastern Illinois. He then transferred to play for the Benedictine Eagles of Illinois Benedictine College, with his final year being in 1986.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

1987 NFL draft The 1987 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 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Ma ...

, DeVita signed with the Denver Dynamite of the

(AFL). He played in three games for the Dynamite during the 1987 AFL season, recording nine solo tackles, seven assisted tackles, six sacks, and one fumble recovery. He was a fullback/

during his time in the AFL as the league played under

ironman rules The one-platoon system, also known as "iron man football", is a platoon system, rule-driven substitution pattern in American football whereby the same players were expected to stay on the field for the entire game, playing both offense and defense ...

. The Drive finished the season with a 4–2 record and won

ArenaBowl I Arena Bowl '87 (or Arena Bowl I) was the Arena Football League's first Championship Game. It was played on August 1, 1987, at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U. ...

against the

Pittsburgh Gladiators The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

by a score of 45–16. On September 27, 1987, DeVita was signed by the

of the

(NFL) during the

1987 NFL players strike The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. and president ...

. He played in one game for the Seahawks, and was released after the strike ended. DeVita signed with the

of the AFL in 1988. He appeared in five games during the 1988 season, posting three solo tackles and four assisted tackles while also rushing four times for five yards.

Personal life

DeVita became a financial advisor after his football career.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:DeVita, Rob Living people 1965 births American football linebackers American football fullbacks Benedictine Eagles football players Denver Dynamite (arena football) players Eastern Illinois Panthers football Los Angeles Cobras players People from Winfield, Illinois Seattle Seahawks players Players of American football from Wheaton, Illinois NFL replacement players 20th-century American sportsmen