Frank Wycheck

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Frank Wycheck
refer to caption
Wycheck with the Houston Oilers in 1995
No. 36, 22, 89
Position: Tight end
Personal information
Date of birth: (1971-10-14)October 14, 1971
Place of birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Date of death: Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Place of death: Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.
Career information
High school: Archbishop Ryan (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
College: Maryland
NFL draft: 1993 / Round: 6 / Pick: 160
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions: 505
Receiving yards: 5,126
Touchdowns: 28
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Frank John Wycheck (October 14, 1971 – December 9, 2023) was an American professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins. As a professional, Wycheck played 11 seasons for the Washington Redskins and the Tennessee Titans, where he threw the lateral pass in the Music City Miracle. He had also spent time as a professional wrestler. Wycheck was the color commentator on the Tennessee Titans Radio Network from 2005 to 2016, and from 2004 to 2017, Wycheck co-hosted a morning sports radio show on Nashville radio station WGFX.

Early life and college

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Born in Philadelphia, Wycheck attended Archbishop Ryan High School in Northeast Philadelphia and the University of Maryland, College Park. As a freshman, Wycheck led the Atlantic Coast Conference in receptions with 58 for 509 yards, including a school record 14 catches in a game against Virginia Tech. As a sophomore, Wycheck led the team with 45 receptions, made 2nd team All-ACC, and set the conference record for most receptions ever by a player in their first two seasons. In Wycheck's third season, Maryland hired coach Mark Duffner, who switched the team to a run and shoot offence, which tended to use four receivers and no tight end. As a result, Wycheck's playing time and receptions declined significantly. However, injuries eventually forced Duffner to play Wycheck at running back, where he started the final three games of the season, rushing for more than 100 yards twice, including a 162-yard performance in Maryland's 53–23 win over the Clemson Tigers in the season finale.

"I feel like I really never got into the flow of the offense," Wycheck said after the season. "The last three games were great, but I'm a tight end type more than a running back."[1] He decided to forgo his senior year and enter the NFL draft, finishing his three seasons at Maryland with 134 receptions for 1,183 yards, 80 carries for 391 yards, and eight touchdowns.[2]

Professional career

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Washington Redskins

Wycheck was drafted in sixth round (160th overall) of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins.[3] With the arrival of new coach Norv Turner in 1994, the Redskins made a failed attempt to switch Wycheck to fullback. Later that same season, Wycheck was suspended by the league for testing positive for anabolic steroids. Wycheck was released by the Redskins in 1995.

Tennessee Oilers/Titans

In 1995, Wycheck was signed by the Houston Oilers, who later became the Tennessee Titans.

Wycheck made the Pro Bowl in 1998, 1999 and 2000. Wycheck is perhaps most famous for his participation in the Music City Miracle, at the end of the 2000 Wild Card game against the Buffalo Bills. The Titans were down 16–15 with 16 seconds remaining. Wycheck took a hand-off from Lorenzo Neal and then threw the ball across the field to Kevin Dyson, who then turned the ball upfield 75 yards for the game-winning touchdown. The Titans would go on to make the Super Bowl that year, but would lose by a touchdown. Wycheck continued to play for the Titans before retiring after the 2003 season.

Wycheck amassed 505 receptions for 5,126 yards and 28 touchdowns over his 11-year career, one of 17 tight ends to surpass 500 receptions in NFL history. Wycheck led the Titans in receiving for three consecutive seasons (1999–2001). In the 1999 and 2002 postseasons, he had 14 receptions, twice tying the franchise record held by Tim Wilson and Jackie Harris. Wycheck also went 5-for-6 passing the ball in his career (all on trick plays), resulting in 148 yards, two touchdowns, and a perfect 158.3 passer rating.

Professional wrestling appearances

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. On May 31, 2007 Total Nonstop Action Wrestling announced that during a press conference in Nashville, that an altercation between Wycheck and James Storm disrupted events. Wycheck, with the help of Jeff Jarrett, delivered a guitar shot to James Storm after the "Tennessee Cowboy" spat beer in the former Tennessee Titan's face. TNA Wrestling would then announce that Wycheck has agreed in principle to a match with James Storm at Slammiversary on June 17, 2007. The match was made official on TNA's website later that day. At Slammiversary, he teamed with Jerry Lynn to defeat Storm and Ron Killings in a tag match. Wycheck won the match with a Cradle Piledriver, Lynn's finishing move.[4]

Broadcasting career

In 2001, Wycheck "hosted" his own Titan player show with George Plaster and Willy Daunic on WGFX 104.5 FM until he retired from the game. Wycheck became a co-host of the morning drive time show The Wake Up Zone with Kevin Ingram and Mark Howard on the Nashville radio station WGFX "104.5 The Zone".[5] Beginning with the 2005 season, Wycheck assumed colour commentary duties on the Titans Radio Network.[6]

Before the 2017 Titans preseason, it was announced that Wycheck would step down from being colour commentator due to lingering head issues sustained in his football career.[7] His absence was supposed to be temporary, but replacement Dave McGinnis returned for the 2018 season and subsequent seasons.[8] In a corresponding move, Wycheck also left The Wake Up Zone morning show in 2017.[9]

Personal life and death

In 1995, Wycheck married Cherryn Krol.[10][11] They had two children: Deanna (born 1991) and Madison (born 1997) before divorcing.[11]

Wycheck was a supporter of the Tennessee Special Olympics, hosting the Wycheck Harley Ride charity event.[11]

In a 2017 television interview on Fox-WZTV in Nashville, Wycheck stated that he was certain that he had CTE and that feared the onset of ‘scary’ symptoms. Wycheck stated that he planned to donate his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation for study after he died.[12]

On December 9, 2023, Wycheck died at age 52 after falling and hitting his head in his Chattanooga home.[13][14]

References

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  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Template:Tennessee Titans Ring of Honor

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