Kimo von Oelhoffen

Infobox NFLactive


currentteam=Free Agent
currentnumber=--
currentposition=Defensive tackle
birthdate=birth date and age|1971|1|30
birthplace=Kaunakakai, Hawaii
heightft=6
heightin=4
weight=299
highlights=
* Super Bowl XL champion
debutyear=1994
debutteam=Cincinnati Bengals
college=Boise State
draftyear=1994
draftround=6
draftpick=162
pastteams=
* Cincinnati Bengals (1994-1999)
* Pittsburgh Steelers (2000-2005)
* New York Jets (2006)
* Philadelphia Eagles (2007)
statweek=17
statseason=2007
statlabel1=Tackles
statvalue1=173
statlabel2=Sacks
statvalue2=26.5
statlabel3=INTs
statvalue3=0
nfl=VON221488

Kimo K. von Oelhoffen (pronEng|KEE-moe von OHL-hawf-fen) (born January 30, 1971 in Kaunakakai, Hawaii) is an American football defensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He played college football at Boise State.

College career

Von Oelhoffen graduated from Moloka'i High School which did not have a football team. He had never played competitive football until attending the University of Hawaii.

Von Oelhoffen started playing at the University of Hawaii, transferring to Walla Walla Junior College the next year and finally settling at Boise State University. He suffered a number of injuries in college that slowed his development including a stress fracture in is foot in 1992 and a sprained ankle in 1993. [ [http://starbulletin.com/2006/02/01/sports/story01.html Dave Reardon and B.J. Reyes, "Kimo von Steeler", Star Billetin, 2/1/06] ]

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals selected Von Oelhoffen with the first pick of the sixth round of the 1994 NFL Draft. In his first three seasons, he was largely a reserve, moving into the starting lineup in 1997. The next season, Von Oelhoffen became a mainstay of the defensive line, starting every game and finishing second in tackles among defensive linemen.

Pittsburgh Steelers

After a strong 1999 season, where he recorded 24 tackles and four sacks, he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an unrestricted free agent on a four-year $11 million contract. [ [http://starbulletin.com/2000/02/15/sports/bigold.html Pat Bigold, "Steelers made Von Oelhoffen an offer he couldn’t refuse", Star Bulletin, 2/15/00] ] Pittsburgh initially inserted him as the starting nose tackle and converted him to defensive end. Von Oelhoffen would start all but one game from 2000-2006. He won a Super Bowl ring in 2006 in his final season as a Steeler. [ [http://www.steelers.com/team/player/49202/ Pittsburgh Steelers Player Page, steelers.com, Accessed on 9/2/07] ]

New York Jets

For the 2006 season, Von Oelhoffen signed with the New York Jets on a three-year $9.2 million deal. He spent one season with the Jets, viewed somewhat as a disappointment given his $3.2 million signing bonus. [ [http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1188620924326580.xml&coll=1 Dave hitchinson, "Wadsworth Likely a Cut", Star Ledger, 9/1/07] ]

Philadelphia Eagles

After being released by the Jets in training camp, Von Oelhoffen signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. He would appear in 8 games for them during that season.

Carson Palmer's injury

During the 2005 Wildcard Playoff game against Cincinnati, Von Oelhoffen collided with Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer's left knee while being blocked by Eric Steinbach. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/08/AR2006010800835.html Leonard Shapiro, "The Steelers Carry On", Washington Post, 1/9/06] ] The injury to Palmer was severe, including damage to his anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament, and posterior cruciate ligament.

Von Oelhoffen later apologized publicly for the hit. Though Palmer confirmed that von Oelhoffen never contacted him personally to apologize, Palmer forgave him stating that the injury was, "just part of the game." [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2285361&type=story, Von Oelhoffen offers apology after Palmer's injury, ESPN.com, 1/9/06] ] [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2588667 Graham Bensinger, "Palmer has lofty expectations for 2006", ESPN.com Weekly Conversation, 1/15/06] ]

During the off-season, the NFL Rules Committee modified the rule regarding low hits on quarterbacks. The so-called "Kimo Clause" now requires that defenders take every opportunity to avoid hitting a quarterback at or below the knees when the quarterback is in a defenseless position looking to throw with both feet on the ground. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2588667 Graham Bensinger, "Palmer has lofty expectations for 2006", ESPN.com Weekly Conversation, 1/15/06] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.steelers.com/team/player/49202/ Pittsburgh Steelers Profile]
* [http://starbulletin.com/2001/10/24/sports/story3.html 2001 Star-Bulletin article about Von Oelhoffen]