.jpg) Wycheck with the Houston Oilers in 1995 | |||||||||
| No. 36, 22, 89 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1971-10-14)October 14, 1971 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | December 9, 2023(2023-12-09) (aged 52) Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 253 lb (115 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Archbishop Ryan(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||
| College: | Maryland (1989–1992) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1993: 6th round, 160th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Frank John Wycheck (October 14, 1971 – December 9, 2023) was an American professionalfootball player who was atight end in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theMaryland Terrapins. As a professional, Wycheck played 11 seasons for theWashington Redskins and theTennessee Titans, where he threw thelateral pass in theMusic City Miracle. He had also spent time as aprofessional wrestler. Wycheck was thecolor commentator on theTennessee Titans Radio Network from 2005 to 2016, and from 2004 to 2017, Wycheck co-hosted a morningsports radio show onNashville radio stationWGFX.
Born on October 14, 1971, inPhiladelphia to Theodore (a Philadelphia police officer) and Marie Wycheck, Wycheck attendedArchbishop Ryan High School in Northeast Philadelphia and theUniversity of Maryland, College Park.[1][2][3][4] At Archbishop Ryan, Wycheck was twice an All-Catholic running back and graduated as the school’s all-time leading rusher.[3]
As a freshman at Maryland, Wycheck led theAtlantic Coast Conference in receptions with 58 for 509 yards, including a school record 14 catches in a game againstVirginia Tech.[5] As a sophomore, Wycheck led the team with 45 receptions, made 2nd team All-ACC, and set the conference record for most receptions ever by a player in their first two seasons.[5] In Wycheck's third season, Maryland hired coachMark Duffner, who switched the team to arun and shoot offence, which tended to use four receivers and no tight end.[6] As a result, Wycheck's playing time and receptions declined significantly.[7]
Additionally, prior to the 1992 season, he contractedmononucleosis during spring practice and had a pulledgroin that caused him to miss several preseason practice days.[8] Starting out as a receiver, injuries to other Maryland running backs forced Duffner to play Wycheck at running back,[8] where he started the final three games of the season, rushing for a total of 369 yards,[9] including a 162-yard performance in Maryland's 53–23 win over theClemson Tigers in the season finale.[10] "I feel like I really never got into the flow of the offense," Wycheck said after the season. "The last three games were great, but I'm a tight end type more than a running back."[5] He decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 1993NFL draft, finishing his three seasons at Maryland with 134 receptions for 1,183 yards, 80 carries for 391 yards, and eight touchdowns.[11]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft2+5⁄8 in (1.90 m) | 232 lb (105 kg) | 30+1⁄2 in (0.77 m) | 10+1⁄8 in (0.26 m) | 4.94 s | 1.70 s | 2.87 s | 4.52 s | 32.5 in (0.83 m) | 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) | 18 reps |
Wycheck wasdrafted in sixth round (160th overall) of the1993 NFL draft by theWashington Redskins.[12] With the arrival of new coachNorv Turner in 1994, the Redskins made a failed attempt to switch Wycheck to fullback.[13][14] Later that same season, Wycheck was suspended for the final four games of the season by the league after testing positive foranabolic steroids.[15][16] Wycheck was released by the Redskins in 1995.[17]
In 1995, Wycheck was signed by theHouston Oilers, who later became theTennessee Titans.[18]
Wycheck made thePro Bowl in 1998, 1999, and 2000.[13] Wycheck is perhaps most famous for his participation in theMusic City Miracle, at the end of the 2000 Wild Card game against theBuffalo Bills. The Titans were down 16–15 with 16 seconds remaining. Wycheck took a hand-off fromLorenzo Neal and then threw the ball across the field toKevin Dyson, who then turned the ball upfield 75 yards for the game-winning touchdown.[19] The Titans would go on to make theSuper Bowl that year, but wouldlose by a touchdown. Wycheck continued to play for the Titans before retiring after the 2003 season, having two concussions in a month that year.[20][21]
In his 11-year career, Wycheck had 505 receptions for 5,126 yards and 28touchdowns, and became one of 6 tight ends to surpass 500 receptions in NFL history.[22] Wycheck led the Titans in receiving for three consecutive seasons (1999–2001).[22] In the 1999 and 2002 postseasons, he had 14 receptions,[4] twice tying the franchise record previously held jointly byTim Wilson (1979)[23] andJackie Harris (also in the 1999 playoffs).[24][citation needed] Wycheck also went 5-for-6 passing the ball in his career (all on trick plays), resulting in 148 yards, two touchdowns, and a perfect 158.3passer rating.[22]
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1993 | WAS | 9 | 7 | 16 | 113 | 7.1 | 20 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 1994 | WAS | 9 | 1 | 7 | 55 | 7.9 | 20 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 1995 | HOU | 16 | 10 | 40 | 471 | 11.8 | 36 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1996 | HOU | 16 | 16 | 53 | 511 | 9.6 | 29 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 3 | 0 |
| 1997 | TEN | 16 | 16 | 63 | 748 | 11.9 | 42 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 1998 | TEN | 16 | 16 | 70 | 768 | 11.0 | 38 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 1999 | TEN | 16 | 16 | 69 | 641 | 9.3 | 33 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 2000 | TEN | 16 | 16 | 70 | 636 | 9.1 | 37 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 2001 | TEN | 16 | 16 | 60 | 672 | 11.2 | 36 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | TEN | 15 | 15 | 40 | 346 | 8.7 | 22 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 2003 | TEN | 10 | 6 | 17 | 165 | 9.7 | 13 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| Career | 155 | 135 | 505 | 5,126 | 10.2 | 42 | 28 | 4 | 5 | 1.3 | 3 | 1 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1999 | TEN | 4 | 4 | 14 | 92 | 6.6 | 14 | 0 |
| 2000 | TEN | 1 | 1 | 5 | 31 | 6.2 | 13 | 0 |
| 2002 | TEN | 2 | 2 | 14 | 164 | 11.7 | 39 | 1 |
| 2003 | TEN | 2 | 1 | 4 | 26 | 6.5 | 14 | 0 |
| Career | 9 | 8 | 37 | 313 | 8.5 | 39 | 1 | |
In 2007,Total Nonstop Action Wrestling reported an altercation between Wycheck andJames Storm.[25] Wycheck, with the help ofJeff Jarrett, delivered a guitar shot toJames Storm after the "Tennessee Cowboy" spat beer in the former Tennessee Titan's face.[25] A match was then scheduled with Wycheck against James Storm atSlammiversary on June 17, 2007.[26] At Slammiversary, he teamed withJerry Lynn to defeat Storm andRon Killings in a tag match.[27] Wycheck won the match with a Cradlepiledriver, Lynn's finishing move.[27]
In 2001, Wycheck "hosted" his own Titan player show with George Plaster and Willy Daunic onWGFX 104.5 FM until he retired from the game. Wycheck became a co-host of the morning drive time showThe Wake Up Zone with Kevin Ingram and Mark Howard on theNashville radio station WGFX "104.5 The Zone".[28] Beginning with the 2005 season, Wycheck assumed color commentary duties on theTitans Radio Network.[29]
Before the 2017 Titans preseason, it was announced that Wycheck would step down from beingcolor commentator due to lingering head issues sustained during his football career.[30] His absence was supposed to be temporary, but replacementDave McGinnis returned for the 2018 season and subsequent seasons.[31] In a corresponding move, Wycheck also leftThe Wake Up Zone morning show in 2017.[32]
In 1995, Wycheck married Cherryn Krol.[33][34] They had two children: Deanna (born 1991) and Madison (born 1997), before divorcing in 2009.[34]
Wycheck was a supporter of the TennesseeSpecial Olympics, hosting the Wycheck Harley Ride charity event.[34]
In a 2017 television interview on Fox-WZTV in Nashville, Wycheck stated that he was certain that he hadCTE and that he feared the onset of 'scary' symptoms. Wycheck stated that he planned to donate his brain to theConcussion Legacy Foundation for study after he died.[35] Wycheck estimated that he had as many as 25 concussions during his playing career.[3]
On December 9, 2023, Wycheck died at age 52 after falling and hitting his head at his home inChattanooga.[36][37] A post-mortem study found that his brain suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).[38]