Not many Javelinas from Texas A&M-Kingsville make it to the NFL. But John Randle did. And he proved that those that do—Randle, Gene Upshaw, Darrell Green—tend to do quite well at the next level.
John Randle: Meet Your Pro Football Hall Of Fame Inductee
Randle went undrafted in 1990, thought to be too small, at 6’2” and 247 pounds, to play defensive tackle effectively. But in joining the Vikings, who had a slew of smallish defensive linemen, Randle found a team that believed in his unique skills. He would use those skills to revolutionize the defensive tackle position.
Randle’s first NFL sack was the only one of his rookie season, as he took down Randall Cunningham in a Monday night game. He would go on to harass quarterbacks, both statuesque and mobile, for the rest of the decade, tallying double digits in sacks for eight straight years, from 1992 to 1999. Randle became a nemesis of Brett Favre, and the Packers quarterback called Randle the toughest defensive player he ever faced.
Playing off this rivalry, Nike made a commercial in which Randle made a Favre jersey, put it on a chicken, and chased the chicken around. (PETA, being PETA, complained.)
Randle’s production diminished when he joined the Seahawks in 2001, but he retired after the 2004 season with 137.5 sacks, the fifth-most in NFL history. And his legend as a gregarious terror who was fond of elaborate face paint may make him one of the better-known defenders of his era, and his bona fides definitely bolster the case that the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2010 is the best ever.
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