Thom Darden Thomas Vincent Darden ( b . August 28 , 1950 ) is a former American football cornerback , safety , and punt returner who played for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League ( NFL ) . In the NFL , he was a three - time All - Pro free safety . He earned a Pro Bowl selection in 1978 . He holds most Cleveland Browns franchise interception records . He was an All American defensive back for the Michigan Wolverines football team and made one of the more memorable interceptions in college football history . After retiring from football , Darden pursued careers as a sports agent , security provider and business consultant . College football . Darden was born in Sandusky , Ohio . After graduating from Sandusky High School , was recruited by six Big Ten Conference football programs in 1968 . He played at the University of Michigan from 1969 – 1971 and had 218 tackles and 11 interceptions . He was an All American in 1971 , and he was also named All - Big Ten in 1970 . He played on Big Ten champions in both 1969 and 1971 . Thom fit in well at Michigan becoming one of Coach Bo Schembechler ' s prized pupils and earning a reference in his 2006 book " Bo Schembechler " . Darden still ranks among leaders at Michigan for Punt Returns and Punt Return Yardage . Darden played all defensive back positions at Michigan . In college , Darden was a housemate of Reggie McKenzie , Glenn Doughty , Billy Taylor and Mike Taylor in a notable house known as the Den of the Mellow Men . ESPN chose Darden ' s November 21 , 1971 interception against Ohio State as one of the 100 Plays , performances and moments that define college football . The play was a very controversial call late in the 10 – 7 game and Ohio State coach Woody Hayes stormed the field to rant at the referee Jerry Markbreit about the referee ' s call that Hayes thought should have been ruled pass interference . By the end of Hayes ' tirade , he had broken a yard marker , shredded a first - down indicator and earned two 15 - yard unsportsmanlike penalties . The scene was replayed over and over on national television broadcasts . That was Darden ' s second interception in that game . ESPN also chose Darden as a member of the All - Time University of Michigan Football team . Pro football . Darden was drafted 18th overall in the 1972 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns . Darden started at free safety from his rookie season of 1972 until he lost the job in his tenth and final season to Clinton Burrell . He was selected as an All - Pro safety in 1976 , 1978 , and 1979 , and he went to the Pro Bowl in 1978 . Over the course of his career he handled 45 punt return s for 285 return yards . Darden holds Cleveland Browns franchise records with 45 career interceptions , 10 single - season interceptions and 820 interception return yards . Two of Darden ' s Cleveland Browns teams went to the playoffs . His rookie year , the 10 – 4 1972 Cleveland Browns went to the 1972 - 73 NFL playoffs under head coach Nick Skorich , but lost in the first round to the Miami Dolphins 20 – 14 . The 11 – 5 1980 Cleveland Browns went to the 1980 - 81 NFL playoffs under head coach Sam Rutigliano , but lost in the first round to the Oakland Raiders 14 – 12 . Post football . Darden has served as a professional sports agent and represented Tony Boles . In 1990 , he invested $ 25 , 000 in Boles by hosting him in Cleveland , Ohio and working him out with athletic trainer s . At the time he was Cleveland - based sports agent . During Darden ' s career as an agent he represented an assortment of NFL and National Basketball Association players and prospects including Felix Wright and Chris Calloway . He was a supporter of Maurice Clarett ' s attempt to challenge the NFL Draft ' s eligibility rules . In 1998 , when the NFL reissued a franchise in Cleveland , Darden was part of one of the six bidding groups . In 1999 , he owned a security company in Cedar Rapids , Iowa . As of 2006 , Darden was a business consultant living in Cedar Rapids . In 1993 , he went to jail for failure to pay child support . At the time he was a registered NFL agent in Connecticut and owed $ 14 , 000 in child support , $ 30 , 000 to a trust for his 16 - year - old son , Todd , and $ 12 , 000 in his former wife ' s legal fees . Darden had been married to Sheryl from 1972 – 1977 when they divorced . He had previously been $ 5000 in arrears until being briefly jailed for failure to pay and cursing the judge . He had been in contempt of court twenty times previously .