Bruce Anthony Stephens (born October 31, 1956) is a former American football wide receiver who played for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Columbia University.[1][2]
| No. 87 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | October 31, 1956 Columbus, Georgia, U.S. |
| Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight: | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Central (Phenix City, Alabama) |
| College: | Columbia |
| Undrafted: | 1978 |
| Career history | |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Born in Columbus, Georgia, Stephens attended Central High School of Clay County in Lineville, Alabama.[1] In addition to playing football, he was also a sprinter, running a 9.8 100-meter dash.[3] Although recruited to play college football for teams such as the Georgia Bulldogs, Army Black Knights and Princeton Tigers, Stephens walked-on with the Columbia Lions and made the freshman team in 1974.[3] He then became a starting running back for the varsity team in 1975 and was a top player at the school through 1977.[3][4] A member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Stephens was an honor society student at Columbia and was named the football team's most valuable player as a senior in 1977, graduating in 1978 with a degree in economics.[5]
Stephens went unselected in the 1978 NFL draft, but was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Jets to play wide receiver.[6] He made the team out of training camp as a return specialist.[7] He appeared in six games and had three kickoff returns for 42 yards with a long of 16, although in one game he had a 68-yard return that was called back by penalty.[1][8] He was placed on injured reserve in October, ending his season.[9] He was the team's returner in preseason in 1979 but was released after fumbling a kickoff.[10][11]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Bruce Stephens Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Bruce Stephens, WR". NFL.com. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ a b c Dratel, Joshua (September 25, 1975). "Stephens Ran An Obstacle Course". New York Columbia Spectator. p. 14 – via NewspaperArchive.
- ^ Maguire, John (October 6, 1977). "Bruce Stephens: small only in size". New York Columbia Spectator. p. 22 – via NewspaperArchive.
- ^ "Football Player To Speak". Ledger-Enquirer. June 16, 1979. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jets sign free agents". The Courier-News. Associated Press. May 5, 1978. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "...Jets". Poughkeepsie Journal. September 2, 1978. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Usher, George (September 18, 1978). "Overreacting Jets Left Upset Again". Newsday. p. 108 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Arena, Ron (October 20, 1978). "News to Note..." Morning News. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Rowe, John (August 23, 1979). "Jets turning Harper loose". The Record. p. 56 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Weisman, Larry (October 16, 1980). "Jets plan to remain grounded". The Standard-Star. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
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