1. Michael Gerard Utley was born on December 20,1965 and is an American former professional football player who was a guard for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League.
15 Facts About Mike Utley
1. 2.
Mike Utley played college football for the Washington State Cougars, earning first-team All-American honors in 1988.
3.
Mike Utley was selected in the third round of the 1989 NFL draft.
4.
Mike Utley played for Detroit from 1989 until 1991, when he was paralyzed during a game.
5.
Mike Utley was named MVP; that season, he earned consensus All-American honors, only the second Cougar to do so.
6.
In 2004, Mike Utley was elected into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame, and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
7.
Mike Utley was an offensive lineman with the Detroit Lions, picked in the third round of the 1989 NFL draft, 59th overall.
8.
Mike Utley started the first five games, but was injured in the fifth game against the Minnesota Vikings.
9.
Mike Utley was put on injured reserve for the rest of the year.
10.
Mike Utley came off the bench by playing in the second half of the next two games.
11.
Mike Utley started in the sixth game, but dislocated his shoulder in the third quarter.
12.
Mike Utley finished the season playing only in the second half of games.
13.
In 1991, Mike Utley started every game and was the full-time right guard until a paralysis injury on November 17 forced him to retire.
14.
Mike Utley began rehabilitation at Craig Hospital, which specializes in spinal cord injuries.
15.
The mission of the Mike Utley Foundation is to financially support an effective function-restoring treatment for spinal cord injuries, to encourage through education that of adopting a rehabilitative lifestyle for the spinal cord injured and a public awareness of spinal cord injuries.