Jacob Daniel Kirkpatrick (born July 7, 1987) is a former American football center for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

of the National Football League. He was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Texas Christian University. Kirkpatrick was a 2009 All-American selection by '' Sports Illustrated''.

Early years

Kirkpatrick attended Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler, Texas, where he started to play football in his senior season, and earned second-team all-district honors at offensive guard. Previously playing basketball, Kirkpatrick was also the 5A District Most Valuable Player in that sport. Considered only a two-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'', Kirkpatrick was not ranked among the nation's top interior linemen prospects in 2006. In fact, he only drew one scholarship offer, TCU.

College career

After redshirting his initial year at TCU, Kirkpatrick appeared in nine games in 2007 and was also utilized on special teams. In his sophomore year, he was assigned as backup to

Blake Schlueter Blake Schlueter (born April 22, 1986) is a former American football center (American football), center. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at TCU Horned Frogs football, TCU. ...

and saw action in 12 of 13 games. With Schlueter moved on to the NFL, Kirkpatrick took over as starting center for the Horned Frogs in 2009. Calling the blocking scheme on every play, he anchored an offensive line that helped TCU to a perfect 12–0 season, as well as a top-five ranking nationally in scoring offense (40.7 points per game), total offense (469.1 yards per game) and rushing offense (256.5 yards per game). Kirkpatrick was named a finalist for the 2009 Dave Rimington Trophy, awarded annually to college football's best center, and also received All-American honors by ''Sports Illustrated''. In 2010, Kirkpatrick won the Rimington Trophy.

Professional career

Despite having a stellar career at

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

and being projected a sixth to seventh round pick, Kirkpatrick was not selected in the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

, which saw only three centers being selected—

Stefen Wisniewski Stefen David Wisniewski (born March 22, 1989) is a former American football guard and center. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft out of Penn State. He also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Philad ...

, Jason Kelce, and Brandon Fusco.

Indianapolis Colts

Kirkpatrick was signed by the

as an undrafted free agent on July 25, 2011. The No. 3 center on the depth chart behind Jeff Saturday and

Mike Pollak Michael David Pollak (born February 16, 1985) is a former American football guard who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played co ...

, he did not see action during the

2011 NFL season The 2011 NFL season was the 92nd regular season of the National Football League and the 46th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Thursday, September 8, 2011, with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay defeating the Super Bowl XLIV champion New ...

. Kirkpatrick was released in June 2012.

References

External links

TCU Horned Frogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkpatrick, Jake 1987 births Living people American football centers TCU Horned Frogs football players Indianapolis Colts players