Bryan Sidney Pata (August 12, 1984 – November 7, 2006) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

for the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

and was majoring in

criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

. After leaving a football practice during his fourth year at the school, Pata was murdered, a crime unsolved for 15 years, but eventually discovered to have possibly been committed by a Miami teammate.

Career

Pata played three seasons at

North Miami High School North Miami Senior High School (NMSHS) is a public high school in North Miami, Florida, United States. Located at 13110 NE 8th Avenue, The school opened as Edward L. Constance Junior-Senior High School in 1951; with 1,500 students in 7th, 8th and ...

before moving on to

Miami Central High School Miami Central Senior High School is a secondary school located at 1781 NW 95th Street in West Little River, Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States.0.1% 80.7% of students were eligible for free or reduced lunch. Miami Central has a large Hai ...

. He was named to ''

Super Prep ''Super Prep'' is a former sports magazine that was based in Laguna Beach, California. It was published in 1985 by Allen Wallace, a lawyer. Its main focus is to provide recruiting information on high school football players. In 1987, ''The Boston ...

s All-America team, and rated as the nation's 26th-best defensive lineman by that magazine. ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

'' also named him as one of the top 100 players in the South. He chose to attend the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

after also considering

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

and the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. Pata was in his fourth year with the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

and was expected to be selected in the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

. He appeared in 41 games during his college career, making 23 starts. Pata played primarily

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in his last season, totaling 13 tackles and two

sack A sack usually refers to a rectangular-shaped bag. Sack may also refer to: Bags * Flour sack * Gunny sack * Hacky sack, sport * Money sack * Paper sack * Sleeping bag * Stuff sack * Knapsack Other uses * Bed, a slang term * Sack (band), ...

s. He had been placed on the watch list for the Hendricks Award, awarded to college football's top

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Death

On November 7, 2006, Pata was shot and killed outside of his apartment complex in

Kendall, Florida Kendall is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area. At the 2020 census, the area had a population of 80,241. History Much of what is now Kendall w ...

, after leaving team practice earlier that day. The

Miami-Dade police The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (MDSO), formerly known as the Dade County Sheriff's Office (1836–1957), Dade County Public Safety Department (1957–1981), Metro-Dade Police Department (1981–1997), and Miami-Dade Police Department (1997� ...

ruled the shooting to be a

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

. Pata was 22 years old. The murder remained unsolved until August 19, 2021. Former Miami football teammate Rashaun Jones was arrested and charged with the murder of Pata.

References

External links

Miami Hurricanes profileOfficial Bryan Pata Foundation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pata, Bryan 1984 births 2006 deaths 2006 murders in the United States North Miami Senior High School alumni American football defensive linemen Miami Hurricanes football players Murdered African-American people People murdered in Florida Deaths by firearm in Florida Players of American football from Miami Miami Central Senior High School alumni 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen College sports scandals

Career

Death

See also

References

Further reading

External links