John Randle, a Little All-America from Texas A&I, signed a contract as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Vikings in 1990.
John Randle, a Little All-America from Texas A&I, signed a contract as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Vikings in 1990.
He played in all 16 games as a rookie before he earned a starting role at defensive tackle in his second season.
Randle showed signs of becoming one of the NFL’s most dominant pass rushers during his second NFL season when he recorded 9.5 sacks. The following year he added 11.5 sacks which marked the first of eight straight seasons with double-digit sack totals.
John was named to the NFL's All-Decade Teams of the 1990s
Thirty-five times he recorded multi-sack games including eight games with three or more sacks. Randle was elected to seven Pro Bowls (1994-99, 2002) and named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990s.
Randle led Minnesota in sacks nine times. He added two more team sack titles in Seattle at the end of his career.
Randle earned first-team All-NFL honors in six straight seasons from 1993 to 1998.
Randle's lone career interception came against the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 24, 1999.
John was the vocal leader of the Vikings and helped the team capture four NFC Central Division titles.
His single best performance came against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 22, 1996. That day, he had a career-high 3.5 sacks and forced two fumbles as the Vikings improved to 4-0 on the season after defeating the Packers, 30-21. Randle was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance and then earned NFC Defensive Player of the Month.
Randle accumulated 604 tackles during his career.
He never missed a game during his 11 seasons in Minnesota.
A devastating pass rusher, Randle hones in on Kurt Warner.
Randle drops Warner for a loss during a playoff game in 1999.
John was a first-team all-conference pick seven times. He was All-NFC six times with the Vikings and All-AFC once with the Seahawks.
Randle recovered 11 fumbles during his career.
In all, Randle played in 219 games during his 14-season NFL career.
Randle was a master at pressuring quarterbacks.
John's 131 sacks from 1991 to 2002 were by far the most in the NFL during that span.
Randle's fourth career sack came against the Denver Broncos when he dropped John Elway for a loss on Sept. 29, 1991.
John was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1990s.
Randle made his final Pro Bowl appearance as a member of the Seahawks following the 2001 NFL season.
John chats with Hall of Fame officials during a breakfast meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010 in Miami.
John listens to Hall of Fame staff during a briefing that outlines what will happen leading up to his enshrinement in Canton in August.
John gets measured for his gold Hall of Fame jacket in early February.
The process to make John's bronze bust began just two days after he was elected to the Hall of Fame. Scultptor Blair Buswell takes detailed measurements of John's head.
© Associated Press