ASU's 50 Best Professional Athletes: No. 29 Football's Jim Jeffcoat

Jim Jeffcoat's career represents one of the most productive of any Sun Devil to reach the NFL.

Jeffcoat played in the league for 15 years, playing for two teams—the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills—before retiring after the 1997 season.

The 6-foot-5, 247-pound defensive end was taken by the Cowboys with the 23rd overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft.

During his rookie season, Jeffcoat appeared in all 16 games, however didn't make a single start amidst tallying two sacks and three tackles on the year. He started every game for Dallas in his second season, and finished with 11.5 sacks and 82 tackles.

Jeffcoat would ensue his 1984 campaign's output with two more double-digit sack totals in each of the next two seasons. In fact, his 14 sacks in 1986 led all pass rushers that year.

His pass rushing prowess was especially useful for a pair of Cowboys teams which reached the Super Bowl.

During the 1992 playoffs, Jeffcoat recorded 2 sacks en route to helping Dallas defeat the Buffalo Bills 52-17 in Super Bowl XXVI. During the 1993 playoffs, he logged 2.5 sacks to help Dallas defeat Buffalo again in Super Bowl XXVII.

The Cliffwood, New Jersey native was extremely durable throughout his career, too. During his 12-year tenure with the Cowboys, Jeffcoat played in all 188 regular-season games the franchise played.

Following the 1994 season, however, Jeffcoat left Dallas as a free agent at 34 years old. He would sign with the Bills, and even extended his consecutive games-played streak to 224 before he suffered what proved to be a season-ending injury during the 1997 season.

Jeffcoat would retire after the injury, finishing his career with 102.5 sacks, 18 forced fumbles, 11 fumble recoveries, and 709 tackles in 227 games played.

He currently stands 28th all-time in sacks and 103rd all-time in games played.

Since the conclusion of his playing career, Jeffcoat has served as a defensive line coach for the Cowboys (1998-2004), University of Houston (2008-10), and San Jose State (2011-12). He has served in the same role with Colorado since 2013.

Check back tomorrow to find out who is No. 28 on our list of the 50 best professional athletes to attend ASU.