Miami football: 25 greatest Hurricanes of all time
By Joe Romano
3. Warren Sapp
Defensive tackle, 1992-1994
The 1993 season was not great ones for the Miami Hurricanes on the field. The 1993 team lost three games for the first time in almost a decade. That was followed up by their NCAA record 58 home game winning streak being snapped in 1994. Still, Warren Sapp and running mate Ray Lewis were able to rebound from that and lead the team to a National Championship game appearance. Sapp joined the program in 1992, was solid in 1993 but put on a show in 1994.
Coming from a smaller Florida high school, Sapp dominated his competition playing both ways and having the ball in his hands. He switched to the defensive line upon his arrival to Miami. The college football world was not ready for a player that big and powerful who was so fluid of an athlete. He was what most NFL defensive lineman was looking to become, but all the way back in 1994. In 1993 he was solid, earning second-team All-American and establishing himself as a wrecking ball in the middle of Miami’s defense.
That 1994 season was special despite the team failing to win a national championship for Sapp. He was a consensus first-team All-American with 10.5 sacks on the season. The postseason saw him showered with even more awards. He won Big East Defensive Player of the Year, the Bronco Nagurski Award, the Lombardi Trophy, and the Chuck Bednarik Award. Sapp was also a finalist for the Outland Trophy and finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
In 1995 Sapp entered the NFL Draft. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him with the 12th overall pick that year in the first round. Sapp would call Tampa home for the first nine years of his NFL career where he would be a six-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowl player. In 1999 Sapp was named Defensive Player of the Year with Tampa Bay. He was a crucial part of the Buccaneers Super Bowl-winning defense in 2003. In 2004 he joined the Oakland Raiders, where he would eventually finish out his final four years of his career. His number 99 jersey is in the Buccaneers Ring of Honor. Sapp was a first ballot Hall of Famer in 2013.