Alonzo Highsmith
| New England Patriots | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Personnel executive | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | February 26, 1965 Bartow, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 234 lb (106 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| Position | Running back (No. 32) | ||||||||
| High school | Christopher Columbus (Miami, Florida) | ||||||||
| College | Miami (FL) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1987: 1st round, 3rd overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
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* Offseason or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Operations | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Alonzo Walter Highsmith, Sr. (born February 26, 1965) is an American football executive, former fullback, and former boxer who is the senior personnel executive for the New England Patriots. He served as the vice president of player personnel for the Cleveland Browns from 2018 to 2019. Before that, Highsmith served as a senior personnel executive for the Green Bay Packers for six seasons from 2012 to 2017. He also played in the NFL for the Houston Oilers, Dallas Cowboys, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes.
Early life
[edit]Highsmith attended Christopher Columbus High School, where he played defensive end and helped his team reach the state championship final in 1982, while receiving All-American, Florida high school Defensive Player of the Year and the Dade County Athlete of the Year honors. He also played basketball and ran track.
College career
[edit]Highsmith accepted a scholarship from the University of Miami over offers from Notre Dame University and the University of Michigan. Although he was recruited by Howard Schnellenberger to play defense, he was converted to fullback before his freshman season started. He was a member of the 1983 Hurricanes squad that won the national championship, and led the team in rushing during the 31–30 victory over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.
In 1984, Jimmy Johnson arrived as the new head coach and named him a starter as a sophomore, rushing for a team leading 906 yards on 146 carries (6.2 average) and 11 touchdowns. One of the hardest working players on the team, he would develop into a complete fullback that could run, block and catch.
As a junior, he registered 451 rushing yards on 117 carries (3.9 average) and 6 touchdowns, including a school record 88-yard touchdown reception against East Carolina University. In his last year, he was recognized as the nation's best fullback, while posting 442 rushing yards (led the team) on 105 carries (4.2 average) and 8 touchdowns.
Highsmith finished his college career with 1,914 rushing yards (second in school history), 2,935 all-purpose yards (fifth in school history), 25 career touchdowns (tied for first in school history) and five 100-yard rushing games (tied for second in school history).
In 1997, he was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame.
College statistics
[edit]| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 1983 | Miami (FL) | 11 | 19 | 74 | 3.9 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 4.5 | 0 |
| 1984 | Miami (FL) | 12 | 146 | 906 | 6.2 | 9 | 37 | 257 | 6.9 | 2 |
| 1985 | Miami (FL) | 11 | 117 | 451 | 3.9 | 5 | 21 | 286 | 13.6 | 1 |
| 1986 | Miami (FL) | 11 | 105 | 442 | 4.2 | 4 | 30 | 416 | 13.9 | 4 |
| 45 | 387 | 1,873 | 4.8 | 18 | 92 | 977 | 10.6 | 7 | ||
Professional career
[edit]| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0+7⁄8 in (1.85 m) | 236 lb (107 kg) | 33 in (0.84 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 34.0 in (0.86 m) | 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) | 27 reps | ||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[1] | ||||||||||||
Houston Oilers
[edit]Highsmith was selected by the Houston Oilers in the first round (third overall) of the 1987 NFL draft.[2] He reported to the team after a long contract holdout, that saw him miss 6 months and 6 games.[3] As a rookie, he played in 8 games (3 starts) and registered 106 rushing yards.
In 1988, he started 16 games, rushing for 466 yards (third on the team) on 94 carries for a 5-yard average, while developing into one of the best blocking fullbacks in the