| No. 96, 99 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | August 23, 1968 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Osceola, Arkansas | ||||||||
| Date of death: | May 23, 2017 (aged 48) | ||||||||
| Place of death: | Orlando, Florida | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 306 lb (139 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Wilson (AR) Rivercrest | ||||||||
| College: | Miami (FL) | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1990 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
<tbody style="font-size: 13px; display: table-row-group; "> </tbody> | |||||||||
| Pro Football Hall of Fame |
<caption class="fn" style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; display: table-caption; text-align: left; line-height: initial; ">Cortez Kennedy</caption><tbody style="font-size: 15px; display: table-row-group; ">
</tbody>
[h=2]High school and college career[/h]Kennedy was born in Osceola, Arkansas, but grew up in Wilson, Arkansas. He graduated from Rivercrest High School inWilson, Arkansas, and attended Northwest Mississippi Community College before winning a football scholarship to theUniversity of Miami, where he was named an All-American in 1989.
Kennedy was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
He has a jersey in the Rivercrest High School lobby. The main road thru Wilson is named after him.
[h=2]Professional career[/h]He was the third overall selection in the 1990 draft by the Seahawks, and was unsigned until two days before the beginning of the season. Kennedy was named to the Pro Bowl in 1991. In 1992, having recorded 14 quarterback sacks, he received the NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press despite the Seahawks miserable 2-14 record. He switched his jersey number to 99 that season in honor of close friend Jerome Brown, and was named First- or Second-team All-Pro five times.
Kennedy retired after the 2000 season. In 167 games with Seattle, he recorded 668 tackles, 58 sacks, and 3 interceptions. He announced his retirement in August 2002 after sitting out the 2001 season. He was given several offers by other teams, but wanted to finish his career in Seattle.[SUP][2][/SUP] He is generally considered one of the best defensive tackles to ever play the position in the NFL. He was a Semi-Finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008, as well as a finalist in 2009 and 2011,[SUP][3][/SUP]eventually being elected to the Hall as a member of the 2012 induction class.[SUP][1][/SUP]
Since his retirement, Kennedy has worked as an advisor for the New Orleans Saints, whose general manager, Mickey Loomis, had previously worked for the Seahawks.[SUP][4][/SUP][SUP][5][/SUP]
In 2006, Kennedy was inducted into the Seahawks' Ring of Honor.
In 2007, Kennedy was named the best athlete ever to wear the number 96 by SI.com.[SUP][6][/SUP]
In 2012, Kennedy was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[SUP][1][/SUP] He was the second Hall of Famer to earn his credentials primarily as a Seahawk. His jersey number, 96, was also retired by the Seattle Seahawks during a game against the New England Patriots on October 14, 2012.
[h=2]NFL stats[/h]
| Yr | Team | G | Cmb | Tckl | Asst | Sack | FF | FR | Fmb yds | Int | Int yds | Int yds avg | Long | Int TD | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | SEA | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1991 | SEA | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | SEA | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | SEA | 16 | 75 | 59 | 16 | 6.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1994 | SEA | 16 | 69 | 53 | 16 | 4.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 1995 | SEA | 16 | 53 | 40 | 13 | 6.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 1996 | SEA | 16 | 67 | 48 | 19 | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 1997 | SEA | 8 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1998 | SEA | 15 | 42 | 29 | 13 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 1999 | SEA | 16 | 74 | 61 | 13 | 6.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 2000 | SEA | 16 | 50 | 32 | 18 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 9 |
| Career | 167 | 448 | 332 | 116 | 58.0 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 26 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 35 |
<tbody style="font-size: 16px; display: table-row-group; ">
</tbody>
[h=2]Death[/h]Police in Orlando, Florida confirmed that Kennedy died on May 23, 2017.[SUP][8][/SUP]
[h=2]References[/h]
- ^ [SUP]a[/SUP] [SUP]b[/SUP] [SUP]c[/SUP] <cite class="citation web" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">"Defensive disruption". NFL Internet Network. Profootballhof.com. 31 July 2012. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.</cite>
- ^ <cite class="citation web" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">"DT Kennedy announces retirement". Archived from the original on 2006-11-14. Retrieved 2006-12-13.</cite>
- ^ Hall Release – Modern era semi-finalists for Class of 2008
- ^ "Well-kept secret: Ex-Seattle defensive great a Who Dat", Foxsports.com (accessed September 2, 2010).
- ^ Dave Hyde, "Dolphins-Saints matchup; Ottis Anderson tells great Parcells story", South Florida Sun-Sentinel, October 24, 2009.
- ^ <cite class="citation news" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">"Cortez Kennedy named best athlete to wear number 96". CNN.</cite>
- ^ <cite class="citation web" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">"Cortez Kennedy Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 14 April 2014.</cite>
- ^ <cite class="citation news" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">espn.com news services (2017-05-23). "Seahawks icon and Hall of Famer Cortez Kennedy dead at 48". espn.com. Retrieved 2017-05-23.</cite>
[h=2]External links[/h]
Here is a story Cortez told at his hall of fame induction.
[FONT="]My Mom, I love you so much. I’ll never forget when you made me quit football my sophomore year for having bad grades. My high school football team went to the state championship. Mom, you went to the game and sent back a postcard: “Wish you were here.” That was the turning point of my life. You know how much I love football, but when you sent me that postcard I thought, ‘Well, if you wanted me there you should have took me there.’ But I understand you care about me more as a son than as a football player. I love you so much.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]My Mom, I love you so much. I’ll never forget when you made me quit football my sophomore year for having bad grades. My high school football team went to the state championship. Mom, you went to the game and sent back a postcard: “Wish you were here.” That was the turning point of my life. You know how much I love football, but when you sent me that postcard I thought, ‘Well, if you wanted me there you should have took me there.’ But I understand you care about me more as a son than as a football player. I love you so much.”[/FONT]
