Trahern (Tron) LaFavor (born November 27, 1979) 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 ...

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 ...

who played 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

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. 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 the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

Early life

LaFavor was born in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

in 1979. He attended Cardinal Gibbons High School, where he was a three-year starter, playing different positions on the defense. He transferred his senior year to

Dillard High School Dillard High School is a historic public middle and high school located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The school was established in 1907 as Colored School 11 and was later named for black-education advocate James H. Dillard. It is a part of Bro ...

in Fort Lauderdale,databaseFootball.com, Players, . Retrieved March 15, 2011. As a senior in 1998, he played

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 ...

making 86 tackles with 20 sacks, while receiving Florida Class 6A first-team All-state and ''

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'' honorable-mention high school

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 ...

honors.

College career

LaFavor accepted a football scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida. He played for coach

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nicknam ...

and coach

Ron Zook Ronald Andrew Zook (; born April 28, 1954) is an American football coach who is a special teams quality control coach at the University of Maryland. He was the head football coach at the University of Florida from 2002 to 2004 and the Universit ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American football, American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team from

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 98, 99, 183 (2011). Retrieved August 30, 2011. As a freshman, he played in 9 out of 12 games as a backup

. As a sophomore, he was moved to

at the end of the first month of the season. He played in all 12 games with one start at

, registering 13 tackles (4 for loss), one interception and one fumble recovery. In

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, he was a member of the Gators'

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) championship team. As a junior, he played in 11 games with 9 starts at

, posting 42 tackles (2 for loss), 6 quarterback pressures, 2 passes defensed and one fumble recovery. As a senior, he played in 13 games with 3 starts at

. He was mostly a reserve player behind Ian Scott, collecting 51 tackles (32 solo), 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss, 6 quarterback pressures, one pass defensed and one fumble recovery. He had 7 tackles, one quarterback pressure and one pass defensed against the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

. LaFavor graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in sociology in 2003.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

LaFavor was selected by the

in the fifth round (171st pick overall) of the

2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

. As a rookie, he played in four games and was declared inactive in 12 contests. He was waived on August 30,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Carolina Panthers

On October 13,

, he was signed by

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

to their

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 ...

Dallas Cowboys

On November 23,

, he was signed by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

to their

. On December 28, he was promoted to the active roster and was declared inactive for the last game of the season. He was released on May 3,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Baltimore Ravens

On August 4,

, he 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

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

. He was released on August 29.

References

Bibliography

*Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . *Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . *Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . *McCarthy, Kevin M.
''Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football''
Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). {{DEFAULTSORT:Lafavor, Tron 1979 births Living people Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida American football defensive tackles Florida Gators football players Chicago Bears players Carolina Panthers players Dallas Cowboys players Baltimore Ravens players