 Herron in 2012. | |||||||||||||
| No. 77, 99 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defensive end | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1979-09-24)September 24, 1979 (age 46) Bolingbrook, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 280 lb (127 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Bolingbrook(Bolingbrook, Illinois) | ||||||||||||
| College | Iowa | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2001: undrafted | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| As assistant coach: | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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| Career Arena League statistics | |||||||||||||
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Anthony Glenn Herron[2] (born September 24, 1979) is an Americanfootball commentator and formerdefensive end. Originally fromBolingbrook, Illinois, Herron playedcollege football atIowa. Following the2001 NFL draft, Herron signed with theDetroit Lions as an undrafted free agent and spent three seasons with the team, in addition to short stints with theGreen Bay Packers,Pittsburgh Steelers, andAtlanta Falcons. Although Herron played in only one NFL game, he had a more productive career in theArena Football League with theIndiana Firebirds in 2004 andNashville Kats in 2006 and 2007. A regular starter for the Kats in 2006, Herron played a total of 26 games in the Arena Football League.
After his playing career, Herron was assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for theTennessee Valley Vipers ofaf2 from 2008 to 2009, helping the Vipers win theArenaCup IX title in 2008. Herron also became a college football and NFL commentator on Chicago-area and national TV and radio, including theBig Ten Network,Pac-12 Network, andSirius XM.
Born and raised inBolingbrook, Illinois, Herron graduated fromBolingbrook High School in 1997. He played football, basketball, and track in high school.[3] At theUniversity of Iowa, Herron played at defensive end from 1997 to 2000 and was a regular starter in his last two seasons.[3] As a senior in2000, Herron had an honorable mentionAll-Big Ten season after making 64 tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles.[4] In his college career, Herron had 172 tackles (including 19 for loss), 10 sacks, and one blocked kick.[5] Herron completed his bachelor's degree in English atTennessee State University during the 2006 offseason while playing for theNashville Kats of theArena Football League.[5]
After the2001 NFL draft, Herron signed as an undrafted free agent with theDetroit Lions on April 27, 2001 and was released on September 2 following the preseason.[4] On September 4, Herron signed with theGreen Bay Packers. He was released on October 5 but re-signed with the Packers practice squad two weeks later on October 19.[4] The Lions signed Herron to its active roster off the Packers practice squad on November 27.[4] Herron made his NFL debut coming off the bench during the Lions' 2001 season finale, a 15–10 win over theDallas Cowboys on January 6, 2002 that also marked the last NFL game played at thePontiac Silverdome.[6][4] That game would be Herron's only career game in the NFL.[7]
Due to a foot injury, Herron was on the Lions' physically unable to perform list throughout the 2002 season. The Lions released Herron on August 26, 2003.[4] In 2004, Herron signed with thePittsburgh Steelers on August 9 but was cut on August 27. Later that year, he signed with theAtlanta Falcons practice squad on November 10. He was released on December 14 but re-signed with the practice squad on January 5, 2005.[4] Following the 2005 preseason, Herron was waived during final roster cuts on September 3.[8]
In 2004, Herron played in eight games for theIndiana Firebirds of theArena Football League, recording 10 tackles, defending one pass, and making eight quarterback hurries.[9][5] From 2006 to 2007, Herron played at both offensive and defensive line for theNashville Kats, wearing jersey #99. Starting 11 games in 2006 and playing four games off the bench in 2007, Herron had 20.5 total tackles and four sacks in two seasons.[9][10] He had one seven-yard touchdown reception in 2006.[9]
In 2008 and 2009, Herron was assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for theTennessee Valley Vipers of the Arena Football League's minor leagueaf2.[11][12] He helped the Vipers win theArenaCup IX title.[13]
Herron has worked for theBig Ten Network as a game and studio analyst,NFL Network as an analyst for Arena Football, andNBC Sports as a college football analyst.[13] Since 2013, he has been a college football analyst for thePac-12 Network.[14] Herron is a college football commentator for Chicago sports radio stationWSCR "670 the Score" and Chicago Bears commentator for Chicago TV stationWFLD.[15] In addition, he is also a host for theSirius XM Big Ten Radio channel.[16]
In 2003, Herron married Katherine Druley inEast Falmouth, Massachusetts.[2] He lived inDearborn, Michigan while playing for the Lions.[2]