Tripp Welborne
| No. 32 | |||||
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| Positions | Safety Punt returner | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born | November 20, 1968 Reidsville, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school | Walter H. Page (Greensboro, North Carolina) | ||||
| College | Michigan | ||||
| NFL draft | 1991: 7th round, 180th overall pick | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Sullivan Anthony "Tripp" Welborne III (born November 20, 1968) is an American former professional football player for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL).
Welborne played college football, principally as a safety and punt returner, for the University of Michigan from 1987 to 1990. He had five interceptions as a sophomore in 1988, and was a two-time unanimous All-American in both 1989 and 1990, the only player in school history to do so. As a senior, he was awarded College Defensive Player of the Year, Team Most Valuable Player, and set a Michigan single-season record with 455 punt return yards (a record that stood until broken by Steve Breaston in 2003) and averaged 14.7 yards per return.
Welborne sustained a serious injury in the 10th game of the 1990 season that required reconstructive surgery on his right knee. He was unable to play during the 1991 NFL season, but attempted a comeback the following year. He appeared in only two games for Minnesota Vikings during the 1992 NFL season before suffering a career ending ACL injury to his left knee.