to draft this guy late, I guarantee he will make our team." The Colts selected Herrod as their ninth round pick (143rd overall), and he became the cornerstone of the Colts defense during the early 1990s. Although tackles were an unofficial statistic at the time, the Colts credited him with at least 131 tackles in eight consecutive seasons, including 200 in 1994. He led the Colts in tackles in seven out of eight seasons from 1989 to 1996. He described his playing style as "seek and destroy." Herrod was released by the Colts after the 1996 season. After one season with the Philadelphia Eagles, he returned to the Colts for the 1998 season before retiring. He was unofficially credited with 1,443 tackles as a Colt, the most in franchise history. Although he was well respected in the locker room, he was largely unnoticed outside of Indianapolis because he played on teams that were mediocre at best and dreadful at worst. The Colts only made the playoffs twice during his two stints with the team, and only finished .500 or better four other times. According to Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson, who was Herrod's teammate during his first stint with the Colts, Herrod would have likely made "multiple Pro Bowls" had he played on a better team. Along similar lines, Venturi likened Herrod to Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary. In a 2022 interview with The Athletic, Herrod revealed that he is dealing with numerous health issues related to his football career. He believes he suffered hundreds of concussions, during his career, and one of his doctors estimated that those were sandwiched around "hundreds of thousands" of "sub-concussions" in which his brain crashed into his skull. Protective equipment (especially helmets) was inferior during his days at Ole Miss, and concussions were merely considered part of the game for much of his NFL career. He is certain that he has chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), though that disease can only be definitively diagnosed in dead people; he has agreed to donate his brain to Boston University's CTE Center for study. He has dealt with migraines since at least 2007, and has chronic pain so severe that he needs assistance to wear dressy clothes and can't bear sitting down for long periods of time. References External links Official website 1966 births Living people Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama American football