Jeff Stover
No. 72 | |||||
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Position: | Defensive end Defensive tackle | ||||
Personal information | |||||
Born: | (1958-05-22) May 22, 1958 (age 66) Corning, California, U.S. | ||||
Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||
Weight: | 275 lb (125 kg) | ||||
Career information | |||||
College: | Oregon | ||||
Undrafted: | 1982 | ||||
Career history | |||||
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Career highlights and awards | |||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Player stats at PFR | |||||
Jeffrey Owen Stover (born May 22, 1958 in Corning, California[1]) is a retired defensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers American football team during the 1980s.
History
Stover finished in third place in the NCAA shot put competition in 1979. In 1980, while attending the University of Oregon, he was named Pac-10 champion shot putter. With record-breaking statistics, Stover made it to the 1980 Olympic trials. However, as a result of the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott by the United States (held that year in Moscow), he never had the opportunity to compete.[2]
Stover had a great eagerness to play professional football, and earned a tryout with the San Francisco 49ers shortly after they won Super Bowl XVI. He was signed by the 49ers, but played sparingly during his first few seasons. In 1984, he was named the team's starting left end, but a knee injury during the first regular season match against the Detroit Lions caused him to miss several games. In 1985, he finally played a full, healthy season in a starting role, and registered 10 sacks. In 1986, in 15 games, he registered 11 sacks.
He is one of only seven 49ers defensive linemen (along with Dwaine Board, Charles Haley, Dana Stubblefield, Chris Doleman, Roy Barker, and Bryant Young) to register 10 or more sacks more than once during their tenure with the team since the statistic started being recorded in 1982...
Stover remained a free agent through all of training camp and preseason in 1987 (in the midst of talk of a possible strike by the players), but signed before the season began. However, this proved to be a turning point in his career, as he in poor physical condition and posted only 3.5 sacks. In 1988, he failed to register even half a sack for the first time in his career, but still was able to play in the Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals. He retired following the season and now owns the Chico Sports Club in Chico, California. He became interested in medicine and rehabilitation largely because he was plagued by injuries in his own career.
Playing style
He was capable of simply overpowering opposing linemen. He could play defensive end in the 3-4 and defensive tackle in the 4-3, and regardless of where he played, he would simply try to run over his opponents rather than beat them with speed. In 1984, Bill Walsh called him his "most consistent defensive player."
Other sources
- Jeff Stover's Football Reference
References
- v
- t
- e
- 4 Max Runager
- 6 Matt Cavanaugh
- 14 Ray Wersching
- 16 Joe Montana (MVP)
- 19 Tom Orosz
- 21 Eric Wright
- 22 Dwight Hicks
- 24 Derrick Harmon
- 26 Wendell Tyler
- 27 Carlton Williamson
- 28 Tom Holmoe
- 29 Mario Clark
- 30 Bill Ring
- 32 Carl Monroe
- 33 Roger Craig
- 42 Ronnie Lott
- 43 Dana McLemore
- 49 Jeff Fuller
- 50 Riki Ellison
- 51 Randy Cross
- 52 Blanchard Montgomery
- 53 Milt McColl
- 54 Ron Ferrari
- 55 Jim Fahnhorst
- 56 Fred Quillan
- 57 Dan Bunz
- 58 Keena Turner
- 61 Jesse Sapolu
- 62 Guy McIntyre
- 64 Jack Reynolds
- 65 Lawrence Pillers
- 66 Allan Kennedy
- 67 Billy Shields
- 67 John Macaulay
- 68 John Ayers
- 71 Keith Fahnhorst
- 72 Jeff Stover
- 74 Fred Dean
- 76 Dwaine Board
- 77 Bubba Paris
- 78 Manu Tuiasosopo
- 79 Jim Stuckey
- 81 Russ Francis
- 83 Renaldo Nehemiah
- 84 Al Dixon
- 85 Mike Wilson
- 86 John Frank
- 87 Dwight Clark
- 88 Freddie Solomon
- 89 Earl Cooper
- 90 Todd Shell
- 94 Louie Kelcher
- 95 Michael Carter
- 97 Gary Johnson
- 98 Greg Boyd
- 99 Mike Walter
- Head coach
- Bill Walsh
- Coaches
- Paul Hackett
- Tommy Hart
- Norb Hecker
- Sherman Lewis
- Bobb McKittrick
- Bill McPherson
- George Seifert
- Ray Rhodes
- Fred von Appen