| No. 72 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | (1955-08-10)August 10, 1955 (age 69) Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 250 lb (113 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Westlake (Austin, Texas) | ||||
| College: | Texas | ||||
| NFL draft: | 1978: 3rd round, 74th pick | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Sterling Bradford Shearer (born August 10, 1955) is an American former professionalfootball player who was adefensive lineman for three seasons with theChicago Bears of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theTexas Longhorns, earningunanimous All-American honors and recognition as the best college interior lineman in the country in 1977. A third-round pick in the1978 NFL draft, he played professionally for the NFL'sChicago Bears.
Shearer was born inHouston, Texas.[1] He graduated fromWestlake High School inWestlake Hills, Texas,[2] a suburb ofAustin, where he played for the Westlake Chaparrals high school football team.
Shearer received an athletic scholarship to attend theUniversity of Texas at Austin, where he played for theTexas Longhorns football team from 1974 to 1977.[3] He was a two-time All-Southwestern Conference selection in (1975, 1977),[4] As a senior team captain in1977, he averaged ten tackles per game, led the Longhorns to a No. 1 ranking,[3] and was recognized as a consensus first-teamAll-American.[5] He was also awarded theOutland Trophy, recognizing him as the best interior lineman during the 1977 college football season.[3][6]
The Chicago Bears picked Shearer in the third round (74th pick overall) of the1978 NFL draft,[7] and he played for the Bears from1978 to1981.[1] In three NFL seasons, he appeared in thirty-four regular season games for the Bears, and started two of them.[8] He did not play during the1979 regular season,[8] and his pro career was later cut short by a knee injury.[9]
