George Floyd (American football)

George Floyd Jr. was born on December 21, 1960, in Tampa, Florida, and grew up in Brooksville, Florida.[1][2] He attended Hernando High School, and played football and basketball for the Hernando Leopards.[3] As a sophomore, Floyd was named starting free safety before the 1975 football season.[4] He tied for the team lead with three interceptions and finished with eighty-four tackles, third-most on the Leopards, as Hernando finished as Gulf Coast (GC) Conference champions.[3][5] After the season, Floyd was named to the GC All-Star team, composed of the best football players in the conference,[6] and made The Tampa Tribune's (TTT's) all-area football team, composed of the best high school football players in the area.[7]

During his junior year, Floyd was named the Leopards' punt returner, and also played on offense as a halfback, where he was used primarily in blocking situations.[3] He had a two-interception game against Inverness Citrus in a 20–12 Leopards victory on September 17.[8] In a game against the Lake Weir High School Hurricanes, Floyd had a seventy-two yard punt return for a touchdown.[9] Hernando finished with a 5–5 win–loss record. After the season, Floyd made the GC all-conference roster and TTT all-area team.[10][11] In basketball, the Leopards, for whom Floyd also played, finished with a 17–9 record.[12]

As a senior in 1977, in a game against North Marion High School, he had an interception and twelve tackles; he earned TTT Hernando County Player of the Week for the performance on September 30.[13] Floyd had a four-interception game against Pasco High School during the season, and finished the year with nine total interceptions, the latter of which established a record which stood for four years.[14][15] The Leopards finished with a 7–3 record as Floyd was named to TTT all-area team: with the accomplishment, Floyd became the first player of any high school named to TTT's team during all three varsity seasons.[16][17][18] The Florida Sports Writers Association named Floyd to their second-team Class 3A[lower-alpha 1] all-state squad in January 1978.[19] He wanted to play college football for the University of Georgia as a senior, but instead attended Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).[3][20] He served as captain of the Leopards' defensive unit each year he played for Hernando.[17] In 2011, Floyd was inducted into Hernando High School's Hall of Fame.[21]

Floyd in 1981

Floyd's first start with the EKU Colonels came as a freshman against the Murray State Racers at roverback, where he led the defense with twelve tackles and was named an honorable mention for OVC Defensive Player of the Week (DPOW).[22][23] He finished the season with twenty-six tackles, eighth most on the team, with four tackles for loss (TFLs) and one fumble recovery as the Colonels finished with an 8–2 record. The team's eight wins tied a school record for most wins in a season.[24] In Floyd's sophomore year, he had a three-interception game against Austin Peay in a 35–10 EKU victory in September, and, against Jackson State in November, had sixteen tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery.[25][26] The Colonels finished with an 11–2 record and defeated the Lehigh Engineers 30–7 to win the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA football championship, the first in EKU's history.[27] He was named Second-team All-OVC, and led the conference with thirteen punt returns and seven interceptions.[28][29] He started every game, his sixty-eight tackles were fourth-most on the Colonels, and he led the team with four fumble recoveries.[30]

Before the 1980 season, OVC football head coaches voted Floyd to the preseason All-OVC Team.[29] In a game against Youngstown State Floyd returned an interception one hundred yards, tying a conference record, and scored a touchdown.[30][31] Floyd shared OVC DPOW honors for a game against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in which he had thirteen tackles.[32] He won OVC Defensive Player of the Year, made the OVC All-Conference first-team, and was named a Kodak and an Associated Press All-American as the Colonels finished with a 10–3 record and lost to the Boise State Broncos in the championship game 31–29.[28][33][34][35] He finished the regular season tied for most interceptions in the OVC, with five, and finished with sixty-three tackles, seven TFLs and one fumble recovery.[33][36] On special teams, Floyd returned 17 punts for 142 yards.[37]

Before the 1981 season, an EKU media guide described Floyd as "one of the most consistent players EKU has ever had in the secondary" and as a "very intense player".[33] He was co-captain of the team his senior year.[28] Floyd won OVC DPOW for his performance in an October 24 game against Western Kentucky in which he had a sack, a pass deflected, an interception, and eight tackles.[38][39] In a game against Murray State, Floyd intercepted a pass from quarterback Gino Gibbs on the EKU two-yard line with sixteen seconds left in the game as EKU won 24–20.[40][41] Floyd won co-DPOW honors for his performance.[42] After the regular season, Floyd won OVC Defensive Player of the Year, was voted to the First-team All-OVC, was selected as a Kodak and an Associated Press All-American, and won OVC Athlete of the Year.[28][43][44] In the postseason, Floyd had a two-interception game against the Broncos in a 23–17 EKU victory, though the Colonels lost in the championship game to the Idaho State Bengals 34–23 and finished with a 12–2 record.[lower-alpha 2][46][47] He finished the year with seventy-two tackles and ten interceptions, and, on special teams, returned thirty-six punts for 314 yards and a touchdown.[48]

At the end of his tenure with EKU, Floyd was in the school's record book no fewer than eight times, and, as of 2020, he holds or ties five school records: for longest interception return (100 yards), most punt returns in a single season (36), most interceptions in a single season (10), most career interceptions (22), and most career interception return yards (328).[28][49] In 1999, Floyd was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and, in 2007, EKU inducted him into their Hall of Fame.[1][50] Floyd was elected to EKU's All-Century team in 2009.[28]

The New York Jets selected Floyd in the fourth round of the 1982 NFL Draft, with the 107th overall selection.[2] Floyd signed a contract with the Jets in June 1982.[51] John Rowe of The Record described Floyd as a "hard hitter" in July.[52] In Jets training camp, Floyd was the third-string free safety, behind starter Darrol Ray and Jesse Johnson, and competed for a spot as a kick returner with Kurt Sohn, Lonell Phea, and Kolas Elion. Floyd appeared at both safety spots (both free safety and strong safety).[53][54][55] Bill Verigan of the New York Daily News projected "only a very few, perhaps three or four" of the Jets' new players to make the team.[56] Floyd made the team after final cuts.[57] During the 1982 NFL strike, Floyd worked out at EKU; when he returned to New York, he worked in construction, installing windows in skyscrapers.[58][59] Floyd appeared in ten games for the 1982 New York Jets, including three playoff games, as the Jets finished the shortened regular season with a 6–3 record and lost in the AFC Championship Game to the Miami Dolphins 14–0.[2][60][61][62] According to Pete Reinwald of TTT, Floyd saw "limited action" over the season on special teams and as a backup safety.[63]

Prior to the 1983 season, Floyd tried out for punt returner along with Kirk Springs and Davlin Mullen.[64] On August 12, Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News stated Floyd had the defensive backfield reserve spot "wrapped up".[65] During the preseason, Floyd moved from safety to cornerback, and averaged 15.2 yards per return as a punt returner and 30.2 yards per return as a kickoff returner, with one interception.[66] In a preseason game against the New Orleans Saints, Floyd suffered a sprained knee on a kickoff return he fumbled.[67] The Jets placed Floyd on their injured reserve list (IRL), and Floyd missed the entire 1983 season.[68]

Floyd was placed on the IRL again before the 1984 season with a hyperextended knee that bothered him intermittently throughout the preseason.[69][70] He was activated from the IRL in late October, and became a starter in early November for injured right cornerback Russell Carter.[71][72] Paul Needell of the New York Daily News described Floyd as the fifth-best corner on the Jets by the time he was a starter, and Rowe described Floyd and Mullen as the Achilles' heel of the Jets defense on November 19.[73][74] Over the course of the 1984 season, Floyd started two games for the Jets and appeared in eight as the team finished with a 7–9 record and missed the playoffs.[2][75] In the 1985 preseason, Floyd re-injured his knee and was placed on the IRL.[76][77] The Jets waived Floyd in October 1985, after which Floyd retired.[78][79] When he played in the NFL, Floyd stood at 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) and weighed 190 pounds (86 kg).[2]

As a junior in high school, Floyd wanted to join the United States Army.[63] Floyd has two sisters, Lynn Floyd and Dianna Butts, and a brother, Willie Floyd.[58][63] As a senior in college, Floyd wanted to play professionally for a team in Texas.[80] He was a physical education major at EKU, and wanted to teach after graduation before being drafted by the Jets.[63] Between being drafted and reporting to training camp for New York, Floyd worked as a student teacher at Tates Creek Junior High School in Lexington, Kentucky.[81] He married Cheryl Johnson in March 1983.[82] After his NFL career, Floyd worked as an assistant coach at Bellevue High School in Kentucky.[79] He taught physical education for eighteen years at Bellevue and Boone County High Schools and, as of 2020, works as an assistant principal at Boone County High School.[28][83] As of 2023, Floyd is a defensive backs coach for Conner High School in Kentucky.[84]

In June 2020, a photograph of Floyd was erroneously included in a montage at the funeral of George Perry Floyd Jr., a man murdered during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The montage was broadcast on various news networks.[85][86]

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