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| Born | (1962-03-27)March 27, 1962 (age 63) Frankfurt, Germany | ||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 145 lb (66 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Killeen(Killeen, Texas) | ||||||||||||
| College | Baylor | ||||||||||||
| Supplemental draft | 1984: 2nd round, 44th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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Gerald Lynn McNeil (born March 27, 1962) is an American former professionalfootball player who was awide receiver andreturn specialist for five seasons in theNational Football League (NFL) with theCleveland Browns andHouston Oilers. He also played in theUnited States Football League (USFL) for two seasons with theHouston Gamblers.
McNeil playedcollege football for theBaylor Bears, earning first-teamAll-American honors in 1983. The lightest player in the NFL, McNeil was nicknamed "the Ice Cube" because he was small and difficult fortacklers to grab hold of. It was also a play off Bears defensive tackle William Perry’s nickname, “The Refrigerator”. McNeil was drafted in the1984 NFL supplemental draft and selected to thePro Bowl in 1987. Known for his explosive returning ability, McNeil scored fourtouchdowns in his NFL career, including an 84-yardpunt return against theDetroit Lions and a 100-yardkickoff return against thePittsburgh Steelers.[1]
McNeil was born inWest Germany,[2] where his father was serving in theU.S. Army.[3] He attendedKilleen High School inKilleen, Texas.
McNeil playedcollege football atBaylor University inWaco, Texas, from 1980 to 1983. He earned All-American honors as awide receiver.[4] One of his teammates was futureHouston Oilers quarterbackCody Carlson.[5] McNeil's brother,Pat, also played football at Baylor.[6]
In his four seasons at Baylor, McNeil caught 163 passes for 2,651 yards, returned 101 punts for 886 yards, returned 31 kickoffs for 573 yards, and scored 17 touchdowns.[7] He set school records for receptions and receiving yards which still stand among the top ten all-time to the present day.[4][8]
Our last signing was Gerald McNeil. He had been born in West Germany and became a high school track star in Texas and a college football legend at Baylor. He came with only one drawback: He was 5-foot-7 and weighed 139 pounds. Soaking wet. But he ran a 4.19 inthe 40. We signed him immediately.
McNeil was selected by theSan Antonio Gunslingers in the1984 USFL Territorial Draft. He was later traded to theHouston Gamblers. In his two seasons with the Gamblers, he caught 91 passes for 1,518 yards, returned 69 punts for 830 yards, returned two kickoffs for 62 yards, and scored ten touchdowns.[9] He was the USFL's leading punt returner in 1985.[1]
McNeil was selected by theCleveland Browns in the second round of the1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL players.[10] He made his NFL debut in 1986 and played four seasons with the Browns, then played his fifth and final season with theHouston Oilers. In 1987 he made the pro bowl as a kick returner, returning 34 punts for 387 yards and a career best 11.4 yards per return average.
In his five NFL seasons, McNeil caught 29 passes for 380 yards, returned 191 punts for 1,717 yards, returned 91 kickoffs for 1,852 yards, and scored four touchdowns.[11]
In 1986, McNeil was the only player in the NFL and the first since 1978 to return both a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown in the same season.[1]
Although McNeil's listed weight was 145 lb (66 kg), McNeil stated in a March 2013 interview that "I usually came in around 140 pounds, but a lot of times I would lose 10, 12 pounds during the season very easily, so I played most of the time between 125 and 130."[12]
Gerald: My dad was in the service. He served 38 years in the Army and because of that, I got to see the world.
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