Mike Utley

Michael Gerard Utley (born December 20, 1965) is a former American football player. He played for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1989 through 1991, when he was paralyzed during a game. Early life and college career A graduate of Kennedy Catholic High School near Seattle, Utley attended Washington State University in Pullman and was a senior on the 1988 Cougar team which triumphed at the Aloha Bowl, Washington State's first bowl victory since the 1916 Rose Bowl. He was also named MVP; that season, he earned consensus All-American honors, only the second Cougar to do so. In 2004, Utley was elected into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame, and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016. NFL career Utley was an offensive lineman with the Detroit Lions, picked in the third round of the 1989 NFL Draft, 59th overall. In his rookie year, Utley became the starting right guard for the Lions. He started the first five games, but was injured in the fifth game against the Minnesota Vikings. Utley was put on injured reserve for the rest of the year. In his second year in 1990, he fractured two ribs in the third preseason game, and was sidelined for the last preseason game and the first three regular season games. Utley came off the bench by playing in the second half of the next two games. Utley started in the sixth game, but dislocated his shoulder in the third quarter. He finished the season playing only in the second half of games.