American football player (born 1965)
This article is about the American football linebacker. For his son and defensive end, see
Greg Lloyd Jr.
American football player
Gregory Lenard Lloyd Sr.
(born May 26, 1965) is an American former professional
football
player who was a
linebacker
in the
National Football League
(NFL), primarily with the
Pittsburgh Steelers
. He was named to five
Pro Bowls
and three
All-Pro
teams.
College career
[
edit
]
Lloyd attended
Fort Valley State University
, where he was a three-time All-
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(SIAC) selection, a three-time team Defensive MVP, and as a senior, he was the SIAC Player of the Year, and a first-team Sheridan All-American selection. He was also a member of
Kappa Alpha Psi
fraternity.
Professional career
[
edit
]
Lloyd did not receive an invitation to the
NFL Scouting Combine
, but did play in the
Heritage Bowl
. Pittsburgh Steelers' scouts viewed a videotape of Lloyd in the historically black college All-Star Game and were impressed by his ability to play sideline-to-sideline as he exhibited a bit of a mean streak. Steelers' scout,
Tom Donahoe
, flew to
Atlanta
and drove
2
+
1
⁄
2
hours to
Fort Valley State
to work out Lloyd and was further impressed.
[1]
The
Pittsburgh Steelers
selected Lloyd in the sixth round (150th overall) of the
1987 NFL Draft
.
[2]
Lloyd was the 28th linebacker drafted in 1987 by then Steelers coach
Chuck Noll
.
On July 28, 1987, it was reported that Lloyd had suffered a sprained left knee in training camp, which sidelined him for his entire rookie season in
1987
and most of the
1988 season
. He was a starter during the
1989 season
as an outside
linebacker
and he excelled. He became the emotional and fiery leader of the Steelers defense after the retirement of inside linebacker
David Little
. Lloyd teamed with cornerback
Rod Woodson
, whom he got drafted with, to give the Steelers two of the most dynamic and dominating defensive players in the game.
Later career
[
edit
]
Lloyd once again missed the entire
1996 season
due to another knee injury. He then returned as a starter in the
1997 season
but missed several games due to a staph infection. He was named to five
Pro Bowls
and three NFL All-Pro teams during this time. Lloyd left the Steelers in
1998
and played for the
Carolina Panthers
before retiring. A true leader and student of the game, Lloyd continued to impact the Steelers defense while injured from the sideline by teaching young linebackers
Chad Brown
and
Jason Gildon
the finer points of Steelers linebacking tradition.
In 2020, the Steelers inducted him into their
Hall of Honor
.
NFL career statistics
[
edit
]
Legend
|
|
Led the league
|
Bold
|
Career high
|
Regular season
[
edit
]
Year
|
Team
|
Games
|
Tackles
|
Interceptions
|
Fumbles
|
GP
|
GS
|
Cmb
|
Solo
|
Ast
|
Sck
|
Int
|
Yds
|
TD
|
FF
|
FR
|
1988
|
PIT
|
9
|
4
|
33
|
?
|
?
|
0.5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
1989
|
PIT
|
16
|
16
|
92
|
?
|
?
|
7.0
|
3
|
49
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
1990
|
PIT
|
15
|
14
|
62
|
?
|
?
|
4.5
|
1
|
9
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1991
|
PIT
|
16
|
16
|
76
|
?
|
?
|
8.0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
2
|
1992
|
PIT
|
16
|
16
|
96
|
?
|
?
|
6.5
|
1
|
35
|
0
|
5
|
4
|
1993
|
PIT
|
15
|
15
|
111
|
?
|
?
|
6.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
1
|
1994
|
PIT
|
15
|
15
|
87
|
69
|
18
|
10.0
|
1
|
8
|
0
|
5
|
1
|
1995
|
PIT
|
16
|
16
|
116
|
88
|
28
|
6.5
|
3
|
85
|
0
|
6
|
0
|
1996
|
PIT
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
1.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1997
|
PIT
|
12
|
12
|
52
|
30
|
22
|
3.5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
1998
|
CAR
|
16
|
14
|
64
|
48
|
16
|
1.0
|
1
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
Career
|
147
|
139
|
791
|
237
|
84
|
54.5
|
11
|
189
|
0
|
35
|
16
|
Personal life
[
edit
]
Lloyd was born in Miami, Florida, and was raised by his mother there until the age of two. In 1967, Lloyd's mother drove him and five of his eight siblings to
Fort Valley, Georgia
, and left them with his Aunt Bertha Mae. He has never met his father and was raised in a two-bedroom apartment along with nine other children. Lloyd grew up in poverty and had two outfits to wear throughout the week. He began playing football at the age of six and played fullback and linebacker in high school.
[1]
Lloyd has a black belt in
Tae Kwon Do
, which he currently teaches.
[3]
He is also well known for using an expletive in a nationally televised interview with
NBC
's
Jim Gray
after Pittsburgh defeated the
Indianapolis Colts
in the
1995 AFC Championship
.
Lloyd's son
Greg Lloyd Jr.
was a linebacker for the
University of Connecticut
football team, and he wears #95 like his father.
[4]
References
[
edit
]
|
---|
Offense:
| |
---|
Defense:
| |
---|
Specialists:
| |
---|