Dean Steinkuhler

Dean Steinkuhler

Date of birth:	January 27, 1961 (1961-01-27) (age 48)
Place of birth:	Burr, Nebraska, United States
Career information
Position(s):	Offensive guard Offensive tackle
College:	Nebraska
NFL Draft:	1984 / Round: 1/ Pick 2
Organizations
As player:
1984-1991	Houston Oilers
Career highlights and awards
Awards:	1983 Outland Trophy 1983 Lombardi Award 1983 UPI Lineman of the Year
Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com

Dean Elmer Steinkuhler (born January 27, 1961) was an American football player.

College career

Steinkuhler attended the University of Nebraska, where he won the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's top offensive lineman, in 1983. This marked the third consecutive time a Cornhusker had won the award as Dave Rimington had won back to back Outland Trophies in 1981 and 1982. Steinkuhler also won the Lombardi Award in 1983, marking the second consecutive year a Nebraska player had won that award as Rimington had also won the Lombardi in 1982. Nebraska is the only team that has had consecutive winners of both of these awards. Steinkuhler is one of seven Nebraska winners of the Outland Trophy and one of four Nebraska winners of the Lombardi Award. He is, along with fellow Nebraska Cornhuskers Rich Glover and Dave Rimington, one of only twelve players to have won both the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award. In 1999 Steinkuhler was selected to the Nebraska All-Century Football Team via fan poll and was named to the All-Century Nebraska football team by Gannett News Service. He is one of only sixteen Cornhuskers to have his jersey (#71) retired by the team.

Steinkuhler is also remembered for being the player who picked up quarterback Turner Gill's intentional fumble in the 1984 Orange Bowl and ran it 19 yards for a touchdown in a play dubbed the "Fumblerooski".

Collegiate All-Century Teams

In 1999 Steinkuhler was selected as a third team offensive guard by Sports Illustrated in their "NCAA Football All-Century Team". The starters were Jim Parker of Ohio State and John Hannah of Alabama, the second team consisted of Bob Suffridge of Tennessee and Bill Fischer of Notre Dame and the other third team player was Aaron Taylor of Nebraska. Steinkuhler was one of six Nebraska Cornhuskers on this All-Century Team 85 man roster; the others being Glover, Johnny Rodgers, Rimington, Tommie Frazier and Taylor.

In 1999 Steinkuhler was selected as an offensive guard to the Walter Camp Football Foundation College Football All Century Team. The other offensive guards selected were John Hannah of Alabama, Aaron Taylor of Nebraska, Brad Budde of USC, Will Shields of Nebraska and Jim Parker of Ohio State. Steinkuhler was one of six Nebraska Cornhuskers selected to this team; the others being Rodgers, Rimington, Shields, Frazier and Taylor.

Professional Career

Steinkuhler was the second overall pick in the 1984 NFL Draft, taken by the Houston Oilers. He was an Oilers co-rookie of the year. He played both offensive guard and offensive tackle with the Oilers after playing solely offensive guard in college. He played eight seasons with the Oilers (some of those alongside fellow former Husker teammate Mike Rozier) before retiring in 1991.

Personal

Steinkuhler hailed from Burr, Nebraska, which, according to the 2000 census, has a population of just 66 people. It is thought to be the smallest town to ever produce an All-American. He played eight-man football at nearby Sterling High School. His sons Ty and Baker have both followed in his footsteps; Ty is a graduate defensive tackle and Baker is a redshirt freshman defensive lineman at Nebraska. Baker is the third Steinkuhler to play for Nebraska. Ty and Baker both played at Lincoln Southwest High School.

External links

• Bio
• Nebraska football All-Century Team
• Athlon Sports Nebraska's All-Time Team
• Gannett News Service selects Nebraska's All-Time Team
• SI's NCAA Football All-Century Team
• Walter Camp Football Foundation All Century Team