Tag Archives: action packed rookies 1991

NFL

Lyght, Todd

aprks91 lyght pset91 lyght

Cards: Pro Set 1991, Action Packed Rookies 1991
Acquired: TTM 2014, C/o The Philadelphia Eagles
Sent:   5/9    Received: 6/7    (29 days)

A first team All-American at Notre Dame in 1990, Todd Lyght had 49 tackles and 2 picks playing corner- eventhough he missed 2 games due to a hamstring injury. A quality cover man (4.45 40) who is also an enforcer in run support, teams avoided Lyght after his 1989 season for the Golden Domers when he intercepted 8 passes. Todd also is a valued member of special teams, returning his first punt 53 yards for a touchdown.  The Los Angeles Rams were reeling from being burned by the 49ers and drafted Lyght with the 5th pick in 1991.

It wasn’t until 1994 that Todd actually was able to play a full 16 slate for the Rams. As the Rams moved to St. Louis, Lyght’s numbers really picked up.  He’d record 22 interceptions over the next 5 seasons. In 1999 the Rams won the SuperBowl and Todd had the best numbers of his career. He’d have 6 interceptions for 112 yards, 2.5 sacks, 54 tackles and a forced fumble. Todd signed with the Lions in 2001 and played there through the 2002 season.

Lyght has been working his way up the coaching ranks for about the last 10 years or so. He got his first really big break getting hired on board at Oregon as an intern defensive coach for the Ducks in 2011. Todd followed Oregon head coach Chip Kelly to the Philadelphia Eagles, joining their staff in 2013.

G/Gs  175/167     Tac 725    Sac 6   Fum 6   Int 37   Yds 462   Avg      Td 4     Lg 59t

 

CFL, NFL

Walker, Kenny

pset91 walker sco91 walker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cards: ProSet 1991, Action Packed Rookies 1991, Score 1991
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Work
Sent: 5/25     Received: 9/6  (104 days)

aprks91 walkerKenny Walker hails from the tiny town of Crane, Texas and went to college at Nebraska.  At 6’2″, 246- Kenny was considered a bit undersized but made up for it with his quickness and agility. After being a situational starter throughout most of his career he really came on as a senior posting 73 tackles, 21 for losses, 11 sacks and a forced fumble culminating with him earning 1st team honors from the AP, and Big 8 defensive player of the year in 1990.  He parlayed his performance and accolades into an 8th round pick of the Denver Broncos in 1991.

The Broncos were restocking on defense following a 5-11 season, and added Mike Croel and Keith Traylor in the earlier rounds. Walker would be a surprising find for the Broncos and start all 16 games that season recording 3 sacks, and follow up the next season with 1.5 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries. The most amazing part about all this is that Walker did this all with a hearing impediment. In essence, he has been deaf since the age of 2 when he suffered a bout of Meningitis. Kenny then played in the CFL for the Calgary Stampeders from 1994 to 1995, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1995-1996. He’d be the first deaf person to play in the CFL.  Kenny then hung up his cleats went into teaching and coaching deaf children at both the High School and College level. Currently in 2013 Kenny is coaching in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. He’s written an autobiographical book entitled “The Roar of Silence”, and at this time remains a role model and upstanding member of the deaf community.

G/Gs 31/16   Tac  N/a    Sac 4.5     Fum 2     Int 0   Yds 0   Avg -.-   Td 0   Lg -.-

NFL

Carroll, Wesley

Cards: Score 1991, Star Pics 1991, Action Packed Rookies 1991, Topps 1992, ProSet 1991.
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home.
Sent: 7/19   Received: 7/25  (6 days)

Wesely had apparently fallen behind on his TTM autographing. As from what I had researched he had not been signing anything in roughly a year, when all of  a sudden sports collectors.net started registering some hits that got progressively smaller in date range. I went ahead and took a stab at Wesely, partially because he was on my list for Action Packed Rookies to get signed, and also because he was a member of the Miami-FL team that handed the University of Texas one of its most embarrassing bowl losses. I sent him 3 cards to sign, and 2 additional cards to keep. He ended up signing all of them and returning them in a scant 6 days.

A fifth year player, Carroll played 3 years at Mississippi Junior College before transferring to UM in 1989. A fine all around athlete with good size, Wesely made a good slot receiver due to his willingness to block and also fearlessness over the middle. In his senior season at Miami he registered 952 yards and 6 touchdowns on 61 receptions. At the time of his departure from the college he ranked second all time with 114 catches.

The Saints would make Carroll their second round choice in the 1991 draft and he’d be one of 11 from Miami taken that year. A modest rookie season would leave Carroll with 18 receptions and a touchdown in 12 games in 1991. He’d follow that up with 5 starts in 1992, grabbing another 18 balls for 292 yards including a 72 yard bomb for a TD. This would be statistically his best season. In 1993 Carroll would sign with the Bengals via free agency adding 8 more catches to his resume,- but racked up a heavy injury bill over his short playing time and retired before the 1994 season.
Further investigation reveals a workers compensation claim that Carroll won against the Saints and Bengals for his injuries in 2010 that covered industrial injuries to his cervical spine, lumbar spine, left upper extremity, both knees, left lower extremity, left thumb, and hypertension, causing 46% disability and need for further treatment. It is with this, that I hope that Wesley is enjoying as restful a retirement as physically possible.

G/Gs  40/5    Rec 42     Yds  557       Avg  13.3     Td 3      Lg 72t