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{{Short description|American football player and coach (born 1970)}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name         = Steve Emtman
| number       = 79, 90, 94 
| position     = [[Defensive end]] <br> [[Defensive tackle]]
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1970|4|16}}
| birth_place  = [[Spokane, Washington]], U.S.
| height_ft    = 6
| height_in    = 4
| weight_lb    = 290
| high_school  = [[Cheney High School (Washington)|Cheney]] ([[Cheney, Washington]])
| college      = [[Washington Huskies football|Washington]] (1988–1991)
| draftyear    = 1992
| draftround   = 1
| draftpick    = 1
| pastteams    =
* [[Indianapolis Colts]] ({{NFL Year|1992|1994}})
* [[Miami Dolphins]] ({{NFL Year|1995|1996}})
* [[San Francisco 49ers]] (1997)*
* [[Washington Redskins]] ({{NFL Year|1997}})
| pastcoaching =
* [[Spokane Shock]] ({{af2 Year|2007|2010}}) (DL/S&C)
| highlights   =
* [[PFWA All-Rookie Team]] ([[PFWA All-Rookie Team#1992|1992]])
* [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|National champion]] ([[1991 Washington Huskies football team|1991]])
* [[Outland Trophy]] (1991)
* [[Lombardi Award]] (1991)
* [[UPI Lineman of the Year (College)|UPI Lineman of the Year]] (1991)
* [[Unanimous All-American]] ([[1991 College Football All-America Team|1991]])
* Second-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1990 College Football All-America Team|1990]])
* [[Touchdown Club of Columbus#The Bill Willis Trophy|Bill Willis Award]] (1991)
* 2× [[Morris Trophy]] (1990, 1991)
* 2× [[Pac-12 Conference football individual awards|Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year]] (1990, 1991)
* 2× First-team [[List of All-Pac-12 Conference football teams|All-Pac-10]] ([[1990 All-Pacific-10 Conference football team|1990]], [[1991 All-Pacific-10 Conference football team|1991]])
| statlabel1   = [[Tackle (football move)|Tackle]]s
| statvalue1   = 134
| statlabel2   = [[Quarterback sack|Sack]]s
| statvalue2   = 8.0
| statlabel3   = [[Interception]]s
| statvalue3   = 1
| pfr          = E/EmtmSt20
| CollegeHOF   = 2179 
}}

'''Steven Charles Emtman''' (born April 16, 1970) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[defensive end]] in the [[National Football League]] (NFL). He played [[college football]] for the [[University of Washington]] and was [[List of first overall National Football League draft picks|selected first overall]] by the [[Indianapolis Colts]] in the [[1992 NFL draft]]. He also played for the [[Miami Dolphins]] and [[Washington Redskins]] before retiring following the 1997 season.

==Early life==
Emtman was born in [[Spokane, Washington]], grew up in nearby [[Cheney, Washington|Cheney]], and graduated from [[Cheney High School (Washington)|Cheney High School]] in 1988. Lightly recruited, he accepted a football scholarship to the [[University of Washington]] in [[Seattle]] to play for head coach [[Don James (American football)|Don James]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19901004&slug=1096456|title=UW's Emtman Plays 'Til Cows Come Home |author=Newnham, Blaine |date=October 4, 1990 |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=6 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/flashback-one-man-wrecking-crew-now-real-estate-developer/ |title=Flashback {{!}} One-man wrecking crew now real-estate developer |author=Landres-Schnur, Zach | date=May 15, 2007 |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=6 January 2022}}</ref>

==College career==
He redshirted in 1988, but soon became a star as a sophomore on a resurgent defense in 1990. Washington went 10–2 and won  the [[Rose Bowl Game|Rose Bowl]] for the first time in 9 seasons.  He was considered the best overall player on the 1991 [[Washington Huskies|Husky]] undefeated national championship team.  A unanimous [[1991 College Football All-America Team|All-American]], Emtman won the [[Outland Trophy]], [[Lombardi Award]], was the [[Touchdown Club of Columbus#The Bill Willis Trophy|Bill Willis Award winner]] and the [[UPI Lineman of the Year (College)|UPI Lineman of the Year]]. He was also named the [[Pacific-10 Conference football awards|Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year]] during his impressive junior year of 1991. He finished fourth in the ballot for the [[Heisman Trophy]].

Emtman finished 1991 with 62 tackles and 20.5 tackles for loss.

He was voted into the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] in 2006.<ref>Blanchette, John. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=20060517&id=dbcyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=E_MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5317,5014961&hl=en "Emtman paid highest compliment"]. ''Spokesman-Review'', May 17, 2006, p. C1. Retrieved on May 4, 2015.</ref>

==Professional career==
Emtman decided to forgo his senior year and declared himself eligible for the [[1992 NFL draft]]. At 6'4" and {{convert|290|lb|abbr=on}}, he was the first overall pick, selected by the [[Indianapolis Colts]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1992 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1992/draft.htm |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> His most memorable play was the game-sealing 90-yard interception return for a touchdown as time expired in a 31–20 upset win at the [[Miami Dolphins]] in his rookie year, which earned him honors as AFC defensive player of the week.<ref>''Daily News'' [Bowling Green, Kentucky]. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1696&dat=19921029&id=5ysbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KkgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6693,6526978&hl=en "Emtman honored after interception"]. October 29, 1992, p. 4-B. Retrieved on May 4, 2015.</ref>

Emtman's NFL career was marred by injuries. Playing a majority of his games on [[Astroturf]], he finished each of his three seasons with the [[Indianapolis Colts|Colts]] on the injured reserve list. Nine games into his rookie year, he blew out his left knee against the Miami Dolphins.<ref>''[[Gadsden Times]]''. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19921110&id=DsAfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UtgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4414,1271255&hl=en "Emtman to have knee surgery"]. November 10, 1992, p. D3. Retrieved on May 4, 2015.</ref> The following season, he tore the [[patellar tendon]] in his right knee,<ref>''[[Spokesman-Review]]''. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19931013&id=owIkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eQkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2330,1993242&hl=en "'I'm not going to give up'"]. October 14, 1993, p. C1. Retrieved on May 4, 2015.</ref> an injury that no previous [[National Football League|NFL]] player had ever returned from. In October [[1994 NFL season|1994]], he beat the odds and made his comeback [[RCA Dome|at home]] against the team he had grown up following, the [[Seattle Seahawks]]. On his first play, he tackled [[Chris Warren (American football)|Chris Warren]] for a 5-yard loss. However, in the second quarter, he [[spinal disc herniation|ruptured a disc]] in his neck in a collision with a teammate. Emtman continued to play, even though after the game, he could not close his fists due to nerve damage from the injury. He managed to play three more weeks until continuing pain forced him to undergo season-ending surgery.<ref name=SeattlePI>{{cite news|title=Ex-UW star Emtman balances personal glory with concerns about Huskies' future |first=Art |last=Thiel |work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] |date=December 5, 2006 }}</ref> He later played for the [[Miami Dolphins]] and [[Washington Redskins]].  His playing career ended following the [[1997 NFL season|1997 season]] at the age of 27.

==NFL career statistics==
{| class="wikitable sortable;" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! Year !! Team !! {{abbr|GP|Games played}} !! {{abbr|Cmb|Combined tackles}} !! {{abbr|Solo|Solo tackles}} !! {{abbr|Ast|Assisted tackles}} !! {{abbr|Sck|Sacks}} !! {{abbr|FF|Forced fumbles}} !! {{abbr|FR|Fumble recoveries}}
|-
! [[1992 NFL season|1992]] || [[1992 Indianapolis Colts season|IND]]
| 9 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[1993 NFL season|1993]] || [[1993 Indianapolis Colts season|IND]]
| 5 || 20 || 18 || 2 || 1 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[1994 NFL season|1994]] || [[1994 Indianapolis Colts season|IND]]
| 4 || 4 || 3 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[1995 NFL season|1995]] || [[1995 Miami Dolphins season|MIA]]
| 16 || 14 || 10 || 4 || 1 || 0 || 2
|-
! [[1996 NFL season|1996]] || [[1996 Miami Dolphins season|MIA]]
| 13 || 39 || 31 || 8 || 2 || 2 || 1
|-
! [[1997 NFL season|1997]] || [[1997 Washington Redskins season|WAS]]
| 3 || 5 || 4 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"| Career<ref name=ESPN>{{cite web|title=Steve Emtman Stats|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/7271/steve-emtman|publisher=ESPN Internet Ventures|access-date=June 2, 2014}}</ref> || 50 || 82 || 66 || 16 || 8 || 2 || 3
|}

==Personal life==
Emtman had a cameo appearance as himself in the 1994 feature film ''[[Little Giants]]'', along with [[Bruce Smith (defensive end)|Bruce Smith]], [[Tim Brown (American football)|Tim Brown]], [[Emmitt Smith]], and [[John Madden]]. He also appeared as an uncredited zombie in the TV series ''[[Z Nation]]''. His son was the zombie baby from the first episode.<ref>{{Cite AV media|url=http://www.syfy.com/videos/ZNation/New%20York%20Comic%20Con/vid:2819440|title=/New York Comic Con|publisher=[[Syfy]]|location=[[New York Comic Con]]|first1=Chris|last1=Engler|first2=Tom Everett|last2=Scott}}</ref>

Emtman formerly volunteered as the defensive line coach for the [[af2]]'s [[Spokane Shock]].<ref name=Shock>{{cite web |url=http://www.spokaneshock.com/team/coaches/index.html?staff_id=29 |title=Coaches: Steve Emtman |publisher=Spokane Shock |access-date=November 28, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825200250/http://www.spokaneshock.com/team/coaches/index.html?staff_id=29 |archive-date=August 25, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Emtman now lives in [[Spokane Valley, Washington]],<ref name=SeattlePI/><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-27 |title=When Steve Emtman went No. 1: Spokane soared in 1992 behind John Stockton, Mark Rypien and Ryne Sandberg, but it was a defensive tackle from Cheney who reached another pinnacle |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/apr/27/when-steve-emtman-went-no-1-spokane-soared-in-1992/ |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=Spokesman.com |language=en}}</ref> where he is a real estate developer<ref name=SeattlePI/><ref name=ESPN2>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3129416&sportCat=ncf&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos2 |title=Forde-Yard Dash: New reality changes the landscape for coaches |first=Pat |last=Forde |author-link=Pat Forde |work=[[ESPN.com]] |date=November 27, 2007 |access-date=November 28, 2007}}</ref> and owns his own real estate development company.<ref>{{Cite news |last=THIEL |first=By ART |title=Ex-UW star Emtman balances personal glory with concerns about Huskies' future |url=https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/ex-uw-star-emtman-balances-personal-glory-with-1221494.php |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240411100646/https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/ex-uw-star-emtman-balances-personal-glory-with-1221494.php |archive-date=2024-04-11 |access-date=2025-05-21 |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.profootballhof.com/history/general/draft/1992.jsp 1992 NFL Draft] – 1st overall pick
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060401041827/http://www.heisman.com/handbook/heisman-defense.html Heisman.com] – top defensive finishers

{{Navboxes
|title=Steve Emtman—awards, championships, and honors
|list=
{{Pac-12 Player of the Year}}
{{Outland Trophy}}
{{Lombardi Award}}
{{Morris Trophy}}
{{UPI Lineman of the Year}}
{{1991 NCAA Division I-A College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1969-1994 All-America Team}}
{{1991 Washington Huskies football navbox}}
{{NFL NumberOne Draft Picks}}
{{1992 NFL Draft}}
{{Indianapolis Colts 1992 draft navbox}}
{{ColtsFirstPick}}
{{ArenaBowl XXIII}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emtman, Steve}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Cheney, Washington]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Spokane, Washington]]
[[Category:American football defensive ends]]
[[Category:American football defensive tackles]]
[[Category:Washington Huskies football players]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:First overall NFL draft picks]]
[[Category:Indianapolis Colts players]]
[[Category:Miami Dolphins players]]
[[Category:Washington Redskins players]]
[[Category:American businesspeople in real estate]]