| No. 63, 66 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Guard | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1973-06-27)June 27, 1973 (age 51) Boulder, Colorado, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 300 lb (136 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Boulder | ||||||||
| College: | Colorado | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1996: 4th round, 101st pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Heath Spencer Irwin (born June 27, 1973) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aguard in theNational Football League (NFL). He played for theNew England Patriots, theMiami Dolphins, and theSt. Louis Rams. He playedcollege football for theColorado Buffaloes after graduating fromBoulder High School. He was selected with the 101st selection of the1996 NFL draft by the Patriots.
He was both ahigh school football andcollege footballAll-American and a star offensive lineman on a record-setting Colorado offensive unit. In the NFL, his team made the playoffs in five of his first six seasons. He is both the son of a former Colorado football player and the nephew of another (Hale Irwin) who is aWorld Golf Hall of Fame member.
Irwin played a lot ofgolf during his youth.[1] Irwin was a high schoolAll-American (by Super Prep andTom Lemming's Prep Football Report) at Boulder High School, where he playedoffensive guard anddefensive tackle.[2] He also competed in theshot put anddiscus throw in high school.[3] He was a1995 College Football All-America Team first-team selection by the Associated Press for the1995 Colorado Buffaloes football team and an honorable mention selection by theUnited Press International as a senior as well as a second-team All-American on the1994 Colorado Buffaloes football team that had a record-setting 5,448 total net yards of offense including the famedMiracle at Michigan.[2] Irwin scored atouchdown for the1995 Colorado Buffaloes football team on October 28 againstNebraska. No other Colorado lineman scored a touchdown until Alex Kelley did in the September 2 season opener for the2016 Colorado Buffaloes football team againstColorado State.[4]
Irwin was drafted 101st overall with the sixth pick in the fourth round of the1996 NFL draft by the New England Patriots.[5][6] In 1999, he won a training camp battle withMax Lane andTodd Rucci for an opening day starting guard spot.[7] He played 87 NFL regular season games, starting 29. He was a member of the Patriots from1996 to1999, the Dolphins in2000 and2001 and the2002 St. Louis Rams.[8] Irwin had signed a four-year $7 million ($12.8 million in 2024) contract with the Dolphins in February 2000 with a $2 million ($3.7 million in 2024)signing bonus. There, he was reunited with offensive line coachPaul Boudreau.[9] Ramsgeneral managerCharley Armey had drafted Irwin for the Patriots, which led to his signing with the team.[1] He also played in a total of 6National Football League playoff games, starting 1, while being inactive for an additional three (includingSuper Bowl XXXI).[3] While in the NFL, Irwin pursued his college degree through the NFL's continued education program.[10] He was signed to play for the2003 Denver Broncos,[2] but he was waived at the end of training camp.[11] His team went to the playoffs in five of his first six seasons,[3] and the only losing team he played for was the 7–9 2002 Rams.[12]
His father Phil Irwin played football for Colorado from 1968 to 1970.[3] He started atlinebacker on the1968 through1970 teams.[13] He had 4interceptions for the1969 Colorado Buffaloes football team.[14] His uncle Hale Irwin played a variety of positions at Colorado ranging fromquarterback todefensive back andpunt returner on the1964 through1966 Colorado teams.[15] He had 100 career rushing yards, 24 pass attempts and 9 interceptions (on defense).[16] Hale Irwin has been described as an average quarterback who became an outstanding defensive back and earned first-team All-Big 8 Conference recognition in both 1965 and 1966 as asafety before becoming a Hall of Fame golfer.[17] Heath's wife is named Molly, and they have both a daughter (Bailee) and a son (Houston).[3] Bailee was born in 1998 and Houston in 2000.[1] Irwin had contributed financially to the allegedly "cult-like" Resurrection Church, which had to remove a promotionalYouTube video content that depicted the campus and images of the Colorado University brand because it violated the University policy.[18] He served as apallbearer atRashaan Salaam's 2016funeral.[19]