Cecil Pryor Cecil Lemuel Pryor , Jr . ( October 7 , 1947 – September 13 , 2005 ) was an American football player . He played professional football for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 1973 and for the Memphis Grizzlies of the World Football League from 1974 to 1975 . He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1967 to 1969 . Early years . Pryor was born in Nueces County , Texas , in 1947 , the son of Cecil L . Pryor , Sr . , and Fannie McCuller . He was raised in Corpus Christi , Texas , and attended King High School . The major schools in Texas did not recruit African - American players at the time , and Pryor opted instead to play football at the University of Michigan , where a former coach Y C McNease had become an assistant coach under Bump Elliott . Michigan . He played for the Michigan Wolverines football team from 1967 to 1969 . He was recruited as a quarterback , but began his collegiate career as a linebacker for the 1967 Michigan Wolverines football team . As a junior , he started eight games at defensive right end and one at offensive right end for the last Michigan football team coached by Bump Elliott . Bo Schembechler took over as Michigan ' s head coach for Pryor ' s senior season . Pryor started all 11 games at right defensive end for the 1969 Michigan Wolverines football team and also started two games at the end position on offense . He played in the 1969 Michigan vs . Ohio State football game , considered one of the biggest upsets in college football history . The unranked Wolverines defeated the No . 1 Buckeyes by a 24 - 12 score . The day before the game , a fight broke out between players from the two teams as they passed each other in the tunnel at Michigan Stadium . Schembechler and Woody Hayes separated the players , and Schembechler later wrote that he knew his players no longer feared the Buckeyes when he heard Cecil Pryor yell , " And we ' re gonna kick your ass tomorrow , too ! " Pryor proved to be one of the defensive standouts of the game . " Sports Illustrated " noted at the time : " The Wolverines ' ends , [ Mike ] Keller and Cecil Pryor , kept [ Rex ] Kern so well contained that he gained only 28 yards in 11 runs after his initial 25 - yard effort . " Pryor also recovered an Ohio State fumble in the final minute to seal the victory . Interviewed in 1993 , Pryor recalled , " That was probably the greatest game I ever participated in my life , and I had been playing since the fourth grade . " With the victory over Ohio State , Michigan won the Big Ten Conference ' s spot in the 1970 Rose Bowl . Pryor showed his sense of humor in the pregame introductions for the Rose Bowl . Teammate Jim Brandstatter recalled , " When it was Cecil ' s time for his intro , he looked directly into the camera , and with a serious , professorial scowl said , ' Cecil Pryor , defensive end , Corpus Christi , Texas , senior , majoring in nuclear physics . ' " According to Brandstatter , " Cecil hadn ' t been anywhere near the physics building in his four years at Michigan . " On the field , the team learned shortly before the game that coach Schembechler had suffered a heart attack the night before the game and was in the hospital . The team was reported to be " an emotional wreck " , with Pryor crying at the news . Playing in his final game for Michigan , Pryor led the team with 15 tackles , but the Wolverines ' s offense was unable to get on track , and Michigan lost by a score of 10 - 3 . After the game , a writer in " The Michigan Daily " wrote that the Pryor had been accused of " dogging it " in the past , but not against USC : " His detractors should have seen him in the Rose Bowl . Putting his awesome physical talents to use Pryor was a demon on defense . " Pryor was selected in 1969 as a second - team All - Big Ten Conference player . He was also selected to play in the 10th annual Coaches All - American football game in June 1970 . During his collegiate career at Michigan , Pryor totaled 106 tackles , nine tackles for loss , three pass breakups and four fumble recoveries . Professional football . Pryor was drafted in the fifth round of the 1970 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers . He was cut by the Packers in early September 1970 prior to the opening of the 1970 NFL season . He also tried out with , and was cut by , the Philadelphia Eagles . In 1971 , Pryor attended pre - season camp with the New York Giants , but he was cut by the team in August . He joined the Chicago Bears in 1972 and remained with the team through the pre - season . However , he was cut in early September 1972 . In May 1973 , he signed to play for the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League . He played for the Alouettes under head coach Marv Levy as part of the team ' s starting front four during the 1973 CFL season . He sustained a cheek injury in a game against Ottawa and was waived through the league and dropped in early September 1973 . Pryor played with the Memphis Grizzlies of the World Football League during the 1974 and 1975 seasons . Later years . After retiring from football , Pryor returned to Ann Arbor to complete his degree . He operated a leasing equipment company for 10 years , building it into " one of the most successful minority - owned companies in the state . " He entered the Ford Motor Company dealer training program in the 1990s and purchased a dealership in Jackson , Michigan . Pryor was a co - owner of Jackson Ford for over 10 years . He also served on the University of Michigan ' s Board in Control of Intercollegiate Athletics for 12 years . Pryor was married to Jan Pryor , and they had three daughters , Melissa , Cecilia , and Hillary . Pryor died in September 2005 at the University of Michigan Hospital . He was 58 years old .