Michael Craig Nelms 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...

 defensive back

Defensive back

In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...

 and kick returner

Kick returner

In American and Canadian football, a kick returner is the player on special teams who is primarily responsible to catch kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. If the ball is kicked into his own endzone, he must assess the situation on the field while the ball is in the...

 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...

 who played five seasons with the Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

 from 1980 to 1984. Before his NFL career, Nelms played in the Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

. He 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 Baylor University

Baylor University

Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...

.

Professional career

Nelms began his professional career after being drafted by the Buffalo Bills. He was the last cut in training camp. He then signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL in 1977. Later that year, he was optioned to the Ottawa Rough Riders.

Nelms is a three time Pro Bowl

Pro Bowl

In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...

er in 1980, 1981 and 1982. He led the NFL in yards per kickoff return twice (1981, 1982) and was the Redskins starting punt returner in Super Bowl XVII

Super Bowl XVII

Super Bowl XVII was an American football game played on January 30, 1983 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the strike-shortened 1982 regular season...

. In Super Bowl XVII, he returned six punts for 52 yards, both Super Bowl records, along with two kickoff returns for 44 yards.

Nelms finished his five seasons with 175 kickoff returns for 4,128 yards, 212 punt returns for 1,948 yards and two touchdowns, and one interception in 68 games.

After Football

Presently, Mike owns Champion Chevrolet Toyota in Culpepper, Virginia. His son, Kirkland, received a scholarship to play at University of Massachusetts

University of Massachusetts

This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...

.

External links

• http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/NelmMi00.htm
• http://www.redskins.com/team/history/70-greatest-redskins/mike-nelms.html
• http://www.fanbase.com/Mike-Nelms