Steven Charles Emtman (born April 16, 1970) 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

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

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). 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 ...

for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

and was selected first overall by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

in the

1992 NFL draft The 1992 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 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott M ...

. He also played for 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 ...

and

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 ...

before retiring following the 1997 season.

Early life

Emtman was born in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, grew up in nearby Cheney, and graduated from Cheney High School in 1988. Lightly recruited, he accepted a football scholarship to the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

to play for head coach Don James.

College career

He redshirted in 1988, but soon became a star as a sophomore on a resurgent defense in 1990. Washington went 10–2 and won the Rose Bowl for the first time in 9 seasons. He was considered the best overall player on the 1991

Husky Husky is a general term for a type of dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies ...

undefeated national championship team. A unanimous

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 ...

, Emtman won the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best 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 g ...

, Lombardi Award, was the Bill Willis Award winner and the UPI Lineman of the Year. He was also named the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year during his impressive junior year of 1991. He finished fourth in the ballot for the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

. Emtman finished 1991 with 62 tackles and 20.5 tackles for loss. He was voted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 2006.

Professional career

Emtman decided to forgo his senior year and declared himself eligible for the

. At 6'4" and , he was the first overall pick, selected by the

. His most memorable play was the game-sealing 90-yard interception return for a touchdown as time expired in a 31–20 upset win at the

in his rookie year, which earned him honors as AFC defensive player of the week. Emtman's NFL career was marred by injuries. Playing a majority of his games on

Astroturf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for pitch (sports field), playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a pile (textile), short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Si ...

, he finished each of his three seasons with the Colts on the injured reserve list. Nine games into his rookie year, he blew out his left knee against the Miami Dolphins. The following season, he tore the

patellar tendon The patellar tendon is the distal portion of the common tendon of the quadriceps femoris, which is continued from the patella to the tibial tuberosity. It is also sometimes called the patellar ligament as it forms a bone to bone connection whe ...

in his right knee, an injury that no previous NFL player had ever returned from. In October

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, he beat the odds and made his comeback at home against the team he had grown up following, 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 ...

. On his first play, he tackled Chris Warren for a 5-yard loss. However, in the second quarter, he ruptured a disc in his neck in a collision with a teammate. Emtman continued to play, even though after the game, he could not close his fists due to nerve damage from the injury. He managed to play three more weeks until continuing pain forced him to undergo season-ending surgery. He later played for the

and

. His playing career ended following the 1997 season at the age of 27.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Emtman had a cameo appearance as himself in the 1994 feature film '' Little Giants'', along with Bruce Smith, Tim Brown, Emmitt Smith, and John Madden. He also appeared as an uncredited zombie in the TV series '' Z Nation''. His son was the zombie baby from the first episode. Emtman formerly volunteered as the defensive line coach for the

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...

's Spokane Shock. Emtman now lives in Spokane Valley, Washington, where he is a real estate developer and owns his own real estate development company.

References

External links

1992 NFL Draft
– 1st overall pick

– top defensive finishers {{DEFAULTSORT:Emtman, Steve 1970 births Living people Sportspeople from Cheney, Washington Players of American football from Spokane, Washington American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Washington Huskies football players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees First overall NFL draft picks Indianapolis Colts players Miami Dolphins players Washington Redskins players American businesspeople in real estate