Alex Wujciak ( ) (born April 15, 1988) is a former

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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He was signed by the Browns as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2011. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Early life

Wujciak was born on April 15, 1988, to Alan and Erin Wujciak in

West Caldwell, New Jersey West Caldwell is a township located in the West Essex area in northwestern Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located approximately west of Manhattan and northwest of Newark. As of the 2020 United States census, the towns ...

. His father, Alan Wujciak ( pictured here as#66), played as an

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

at Notre Dame, including as part of the 1973 national championship team. 2 years later, he was pictured alongside Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger in a photo taken during the Georgia Tech game, the only game that Ruettiger dressed for and played in. Alex Wujciak attended

Seton Hall Preparatory School Seton Hall Preparatory School, generally called Seton Hall Prep, SHP, or "The Prep", is a Roman Catholic all boys' high school located in the suburban community of West Orange in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating under ...

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from t ...

, where he was a four-year letterwinner playing football at linebacker,

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

, and punter. During his junior year in 2004, he recorded 145

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, five

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, and one interception, and 23 pass receptions for 450 yards and three touchdowns. In 2005, he was named the New Jersey Defensive Player of the Year and an

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

and ''

The Star Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

'' first-team all-state player.

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

.com assessed him as the 17th-ranked, and Rivals.com assessed him as the 24th-ranked prospective college linebacker in the nation.Player Bio: Alex Wujciak
, University of Maryland, January 11, 2009. Wujciak was considered one of the top inside linebacker prospects of 2006. As such, he was heavily recruited by several major colleges and received offers from Maryland,

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

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

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, and

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

. His mother, Erin Wujciak, said that Alex chose Maryland because he believed that head coach

Ralph Friedgen Ralph Harry Friedgen (born April 4, 1947) is a former American football coach. He was most recently the special assistant coach for Rutgers in 2015 after serving as their offensive coordinator in the 2014 season. He was the head coach at the Un ...

and recruiting coordinator Dave Sollazzo were "straight shooters" and did not make unrealistic promises about playing time.

College career

Wujciak sat out the 2006 season as a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

. In

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, he suffered a partial tear of the

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

in summer training camp which caused him to miss the entire subsequent season. According to Maryland head coach

, as a redshirt freshman, Wujciak had been a serious competitor for a starting position. Friedgen said that " ujciak's injuryis a big blow for us right now." In

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, Wujciak started in all 13 games and was the leading tackler for Maryland. He recorded a total of 133 tackles, including 56 solo and 8.5 for a loss of 26 yards, and 1.5 sacks for 9 yards. He also broke up two passes, recovered a fumble, and blocked a kick. He finished the season second in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) and 13th in the nation in tackles. Wujciak received second-team All-ACC honors, and he was named the team's defensive

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

. After the 2008 season, Wujciak underwent knee surgery which caused him to miss spring practice, but he was able to recuperate by the start of the 2009 season. In the spring of 2009, ''

College Football News ''College Football News'' (''CFN'') is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis incl ...

'' named him as one of their "120 Players to Know" for the upcoming season, and wrote that "he craves contact and plays with a no-quit, blue-collar mentality ... He flows nicely to the ball, will shed blockers, and rarely misses a tackle." Prior to the 2009 season, he was named to the preseason All-ACC team. Wujciak was included on the

Chuck Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player of the year in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and profess ...

Bronko Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athle ...

, and

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lombard ...

watch lists. Before the 2010 season, Scout.com included him at number-33 among its Top 100 Players.Preview 2010 - Top 100 Players; Players No. 21 to 40
, Scout.com, August 22, 2010.

Professional career

Wujciak was signed by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

as an

following the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, 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 Rad ...

on July 26, 2011. He was waived on August 4, 2011.

Personal life

After his football career Wujciak went on to become a trooper with the New Jersey State Police.

References

External links

Alex Wujciak NFL Draft Scout Profile
NFL Draft Scout, retrieved March 26, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wujciak, Alex Living people 1988 births American football linebackers Maryland Terrapins football players Players of American football from Essex County, New Jersey People from West Caldwell, New Jersey Cleveland Browns players