| No. 51 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Linebacker | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | (1961-05-05)May 5, 1961 (age 64) Tucson, Arizona, U.S. | ||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
| Weight | 229 lb (104 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Amphitheater (Tucson) | ||||||
| College | Idaho | ||||||
| NFL draft | 1983:7th round, 177th overall pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Sam Merriman (born May 5, 1961) is an American former professionalfootball player who was alinebacker for five seasons in theNational Football League (NFL). He played college football for theIdaho Vandals in theBig Sky Conference. He was selected in the seventh round of the1983 NFL draft by theSeattle Seahawks.
Born and raised inTucson, Arizona, Merriman graduated from itsAmphitheater High School in 1979.[1] He played college football at theUniversity of Idaho in the Big Sky Conference, recruited by head coachJerry Davitch, a formerArizona Wildcat lineman and high school head coach in Tucson. Merriman had planned on playing atNorthern Arizona inFlagstaff, also in the Big Sky, but a coaching change there altered his future further northward.[1]
Merriman was a four-year all-conference starter for theVandals, but went through a coaching change after a disappointing3–8 season in1981, his junior year. He came close to transferring toHawaii, but decided to stay inMoscow under first-time head coachDennis Erickson.[1]
In Merriman's senior season in1982, the Vandals were8–3 in the regular season and advanced to the second round of the twelve-teamDivision I-AA playoffs, falling to eventual national championEastern Kentucky by eight in a televised game (WTBS) that wasn't decided until the final minute.[2][3]
Following his senior season, he played in theEast–West Shrine Game atStanford Stadium in mid-January.[4][5]
Merriman was selected by theSeattle Seahawks in theseventh round of the1983 NFL draft, the 177th overall pick. A reserve linebacker, he made his mark as a standout player on special teams for five seasons.[6][7] As a rookie in1983, the Seahawks beatDenver soundly in thewild card game and met favoredMiami at theOrange Bowl in thedivisional round. It was a close contest with several lead changes; the Seahawks regained the lead 24–20 with under two minutes remaining. On the ensuing kickoff, Merriman recovered a Dolphin fumble inside the Miami thirty that led to a Seattle field goal, the final score of the upsetvictory.[8][9][10]
Entering his sixth season in1988, Merriman was a likely starter at weak inside linebacker, but suffered a career-ending knee injury in the second preseason game againstDetroit at thePontiac Silverdome; it occurred during a punt return in overtime.[11][12][13] Placed on injured reserve, he was released by the team eight months later in April1989.[13]