John Spiegel Michels is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 offensive tackle in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

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High school career

Michels attended La Jolla High School

La Jolla High School

La Jolla, CA 92037 Enrollment 1,650 Colors Black & Red██ Mascot Viking Rival Schools The Bishop's School, Cathedral Catholic High School, Mission Bay High School, University City High School Homepage...

, where he was a three time letterman in football, basketball, and track. He was a First Team All-American defensive tackle and was the Western League Champion in the discus.

Michels was named as one of San Diego's 100 all time greatest players by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

College career

Michels played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at the University of Southern California

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

 and was a First Team All-Pac 10 Conference and a Second Team All-America

All-America

An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...

n offensive tackle, after being converted from a defensive end

Defensive end

Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...

. He helped to lead the Trojans to a victory over Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

 in the 1996 Rose Bowl

1996 Rose Bowl

The 1996 Rose Bowl was the 82nd Rose Bowl Game. It was the 50th game in the series featuring the Big Ten Conference and the Pacific-10 Conference. The USC Trojans defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 41-32 on the strength of two touchdown passes from USC QB Brad Otton to WR Keyshawn Johnson...

. After his senior year at USC, Michels was selected as a starter in the 1996 Senior Bowl

Senior Bowl

The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football exhibition game played in Mobile, Alabama which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those collegiate players who have completed their eligibility. First played in 1950 in Jacksonville, Florida, the game moved to Mobile's Ladd Peebles Stadium...

 All-Star game.

Professional career

Michels was drafted

NFL Draft

The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...

 in the first round, 27th pick overall, of the 1996 NFL Draft

1996 NFL Draft

The 1996 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 20–21, 1996...

 by the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

. When then-starter and fellow Trojan Ken Ruettgers

Ken Ruettgers

Kenneth Ruettgers is a former National Football League offensive lineman who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1985 to 1996.-High school career:...

 went down with a knee injury, Michels took over the left tackle duties. He started 9 games in his rookie season, helping the Packers win Super Bowl XXXI

Super Bowl XXXI

Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game played on January 26, 1997, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1996 regular season. The National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American...

. He was named the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

 1996 Co-Rookie of the Year (along with Tyrone Williams

Tyrone Williams (cornerback)

Upton Tyrone Williams, A.K.A. Tyrone Williams is a retired American football cornerback in the National Football League. He played with the Green Bay Packers from 1996 to 2002, the Atlanta Falcons in 2003 and the Dallas Cowboys in 2004. He played college football at the University of Nebraska...

) and earned NFL All-Rookie honors.

In 1997, he returned as the starting left tackle, starting the first five games of the season before injuring his right knee against the Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

. He was sidelined for the rest of the season and replaced by that year's first round pick Ross Verba

Ross Verba

Ross Robert Verba is an American professional football player currently is a free agent. A 6'4", 305-lb...

. After having his best training camp as a professional in 1998, he again injured his right knee and spent the year on injured reserve

Injured reserve

The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...

. Unable to recover from his knee injury, he struggled in training camp in 1999 and was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 for defensive end Jon Harris

Jon Harris

Jonathan Cecil Harris is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns, and the Green Bay Packers. He played college football at the University of Virginia and was drafted in the first round of the 1997 NFL Draft...

. Michels only lasted a couple of weeks in Philadelphia before his knee injury ultimately ended his career.

Personal

Michels married Melissa Danielle Glenn on February 15, 1997. They have three children: Lauren, McKenna, and Evan. Michels graduated from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in 2008 and is currently doing his residency in diagnostic radiology at Baylor College of Medicine

Baylor College of Medicine

Baylor College of Medicine, located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, USA, is a highly regarded medical school and leading center for biomedical research and clinical care...

 in Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

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