# Carl Russ > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Carl_Russ > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Carl_Russ.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Russ > Source revision: 1350293633 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **James Carlton Russ** (born February 16, 1953) is an American former professional [football](/source/American_football) player who was a [linebacker](/source/Linebacker) for the [Atlanta Falcons](/source/Atlanta_Falcons) and [New York Jets](/source/New_York_Jets) of the [National Football League](/source/National_Football_League) (NFL) from 1975 to 1977. He played [college football](/source/College_football) for the [Michigan Wolverines](/source/Michigan_Wolverines_football) from 1972 to 1974. ## Early life Russ was born in 1953 in [Muskegon, Michigan](/source/Muskegon,_Michigan).[1] He attended [Muskegon Heights High School](/source/Muskegon_Heights_High_School) where he competed in three sports.[2] ## Michigan Though recruited to play for the [Indiana Hoosiers football](/source/Indiana_Hoosiers_football) team, Russ enrolled at the [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan) in 1971 without a football scholarship. He tried out for the [Wolverines](/source/Michigan_Wolverines_football) as a walk-on and played for Michigan's all-freshman team in 1971.[2][3] He went on to become a backup in 1972.[2] As a junior in 1973, he started all 11 games at the wide linebacker position for the undefeated [1973 Michigan Wolverines football team](/source/1973_Michigan_Wolverines_football_team) that held its opponents to an average of 6.2 points per game and finished the season ranked No. 6 in both the AP and UPI polls.[4] Russ tallied 66 tackles during the 1973 season, including 11 against [Navy](/source/Navy_Midshipmen_football) and a career-high 15 tackles in a [10-10 tie](/source/1973_Ohio_State_vs._Michigan_football_game) with [Ohio State](/source/1973_Ohio_State_Buckeyes_football_team).[5] As a senior, Russ started 9 of 11 games at the wide linebacker position for the [1974 Michigan Wolverines football team](/source/1974_Michigan_Wolverines_football_team) that held its opponents to an average of 6.8 points per game and finished the season ranked No. 3 in the AP poll and No. 5 in the UPI poll.[6] During his two years as the starting wide linebacker at Michigan, the team compiled a record of 20-1-1.[4][6] Russ concluded his collegiate career with a total of 118 tackles for the Wolverines.[5] ## Professional football Russ was selected by the [Atlanta Falcons](/source/Atlanta_Falcons) in the 13th round (315th overall pick) of the [1975 NFL draft](/source/1975_NFL_draft).[1] As a rookie in 1975, Russ was a backup for [Tommy Nobis](/source/Tommy_Nobis), but he appeared in 14 games.[1][2] Russ was released by the Falcons in early September 1976.[7] Russ was acquired on waivers by the [New York Jets](/source/New_York_Jets) after being released by the Falcons.[8] Jets' coach [Lou Holtz](/source/Lou_Holtz) acquired Russ to start in place of [Steve Poole](/source/Steve_Poole), who had been injured.[9][10] Russ appeared in three games for the Jets in September 1976, two of them as a starter,[11] but he sustained a knee injury in a game against the [Miami Dolphins](/source/Miami_Dolphins).[12] As a result of the injury, Russ missed the remainder of the 1976 season and underwent knee surgery during the offseason.[1][2] Russ returned to the Jets in 1977, but he was released in early September. He was re-signed by the Jets in late October 1977 and appeared in two games during the 1977 season.[1][11] Russ was released by the Jets after the 1977 season and signed with the [Washington Redskins](/source/Washington_Redskins) in January 1978.[13] ## Later years In 1994, Russ was inducted into the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame.[2] ## References 1. ["Carl Russ"](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/R/RussCa20.htm). *pro-football-reference.com*. Sports Reference LLC. 1. ["Class of 1994"](http://www.mashf.com/1994_inductees.htm). Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame. 1. ["University of Michigan Football Rosters database"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070928200732/http://141.211.39.65/allroster/fbsearch.htm). Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Football Rosters. Archived from [the original](http://141.211.39.65/allroster/fbsearch.htm) on 2007-09-28.(enter "carl" and "russ" in the name boxes to retrieve Russ's roster details) 1. ["1973 Football Team"](https://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1973fbt.htm). Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. 1. ["Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page"](https://web.archive.org/web/20071112175906/http://stats.ath.umich.edu/football/footstart.php). *MGoBlue.com*. University of Michigan. Archived from [the original](http://stats.ath.umich.edu/football/footstart.php) on November 12, 2007. Retrieved December 5, 2012.(To retrieve Marsh's statistics, enter "Russ" in the space for "Enter last name" and "Carl" in the space for "Enter first name.") 1. ["1974 Football Team"](https://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1974fbt.htm). Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. 1. ["State Pro Aspirants Fall"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=z5JaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=S0oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6516,5064381&dq=michigan+carl-russ&hl=en). *Ludington Daily News (UPI story)*. September 7, 1976. 1. ["Transactions"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200402190643/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=czcjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ookFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3630,1892615&dq=falcons+carl-russ&hl=en). *Tri City Herald*. September 8, 1976. Archived from [the original](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=czcjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ookFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3630,1892615&dq=falcons+carl-russ&hl=en) on April 2, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2015. 1. ["Holtz sees more woe for Jets"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Sr0sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KhQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3403,3396272&dq=michigan+carl-russ&hl=en). *Star-News (UPI story)*. September 15, 1976. 1. ["Hennigan Back With Jets"](https://www.nytimes.com/1976/09/16/archives/hennigan-back-with-jets.html). *The New York Times*. September 16, 1976. 1. Gerald Eskenazi (October 27, 1977). ["Jets Make a Shift: Russ Back With Team"](https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0E12FE345B167493C5AB178BD95F438785F9). *The New York Times* 1. William N. Wallace (September 28, 1976). ["Jets' Roster Falls Six Below Limit"](https://www.nytimes.com/1976/09/28/archives/jets-roster-falls-six-below-limit.html). *The New York Times* 1. ["Russ Inks Contract"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=38pDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=k68MAAAAIBAJ&pg=6060,477964&dq=redskins+carl-russ&hl=en). *The Sunday Times-Sentinel (UPI story)*. January 8, 1978. p. D2. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Carl Russ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Russ) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Russ?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.