Iowa History Daily: On February 29, 1968, Bryce Paup was born in Jefferson. A standout on the football field at Scranton High School and the University of Northern Iowa, Paup went on to play for eleven seasons in the NFL while capturing NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1995.
Growing up in the central Iowa town of Scranton, Paup showed great athletic potential as a four-year letterman in football and three-year letterman in basketball. A dominant high school player, he found his way to the University of Northern Iowa where he dominated as a part of the Panther defense.
A three-year starter at inside and outside linebacker, defensive end/slash nose tackle, Bryce Paup totaled 298 tackles, 15 sacks, two interceptions, six forced fumbles with three fumbles recovered in his career as a Panther. He earned All-Gateway Conference honors and was named third team All-America by the Associated Press in 1989.
Selected in the sixth round of the NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers in 1990, and showed flashes of potential during his early career. In his second career stop, in Buffalo, Paup truly shined. In 1995, his first season with the Buffalo Bills, Paup was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press. Paup led the NFL with 17.5 sacks, the fourth-highest single-season total of the 1990s. After his playing career, Paup went into coaching and currently serves as the Assistant Head Coach at UNI. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar
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