| No. 22 | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Safety | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | (1962-02-16)February 16, 1962 (age 63) Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 199 lb (90 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Woodbridge(Lake Ridge, Virginia) | ||||||||||
| College: | Florida | ||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1984: 3rd round, 78th pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Robert Anthony Lilly (born February 16, 1962) is an American former professionalfootball player who was asafety for four seasons with theDenver Broncos of theNational Football League (NFL) during the 1980s. Lilly playedcollege football for theFlorida Gators, and thereafter, he played professionally for theDenver Broncos of the NFL.
Lilly was born inAlexandria, Virginia in 1962.[1] When he was 9 years old he represented theWashington, D.C. area in the NFL'sPunt, Pass, and Kick competition.[2] In 1979, Lilly was one of five players from Northern Virginia named toUnited Press International's Virginia All-State football team.[3] He attendedWoodbridge High School inWoodbridge, Virginia,[4] and he was a standout player for the Woodbridge Vikings high school football team. On October 2, 2004,Woodbridge High School retired the numbers of three former football players, including Lilly's No. 18.[5][6]
Lilly accepted an athletic scholarship to attend theUniversity of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coachCharley Pell'sFlorida Gators football team from1980 to1983.[7] He became a starter as a freshman when Tim Groves was injured late in the 1980 season, and remained a regular member of the Gators' starting lineup for his remaining three seasons.[8] As a senior in 1983, Lilly was honored as a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection and a second-teamAll-American.[7]
TheDenver Broncos drafted Lilly in the third round (78th pick overall) in the1984 NFL draft.[9] He played for the Broncos for four seasons from1984 to1987.[10] Lillystarted at safety for the Broncos vs. Washington inSuper Bowl XXII. Lilly was badly beaten (even though he had the angle of pursuit) by RB Timmy Smith on a 58-yard TD run and was also torched by WR Ricky Sanders on 80 and 50-yard TD receptions, all during Washington's epic 35-point 2nd quarter explosion; this would be Lilly's last game played in the NFL. In his four-year NFL career, he played in fifty-eight games, started fifteen of them, and totaled nineinterceptions and threefumble recoveries.[1]
Lilly was a special education instructor and the head football coach atPotomac Senior High School located inDumfries, Virginia from 2005 to 2009. In 2006, Lilly coached the Panthers to an 11–2 record in his second season and capturing the Cardinal District and Northwest Regional championships in the state of Virginia. The only two losses that season were to eventual Virginia Division 6 state championOsbourn High School and Division 5 championPhoebus High School.
In 2007, Lilly guided the Panthers to a perfect 10–0 regular season on the way to the Virginia Division 5 state championship game, before losing toStone Bridge High School in the final.[11] His 2007 Potomac Panthers finished the season 13–1 overall.[11]
On May 4, 2010, Lilly was named the head football coach ofC.D. Hylton High School inWoodbridge, Virginia, where he also serves as the head television production teacher. In his first season as head coach, he directed the team to a 10–0 regular season, before losing in their first playoff game against Battlefield, the eventual Division 6 champion who they had defeated earlier in the season.
