Brian Brikowski (born February 11, 1989) 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Brikowski was a member of the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) until his release in June 2015. Brikowski has previously played for the

Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. The team was founded in 2001 and played in the Arena Football League's Central Division. The Rush qualified for the playoffs in 11 of 12 AFL seasons, during w ...

in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). Brikowski also played for the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

(IFL).

Early years

Brikowski attended Freehold Township High School in Freehold, New Jersey, and was a

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

, and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

. Brikowski signed with the

Akron Zips The Akron Zips are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, United States. The Zips compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division I, Division I level as a memb ...

of the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

as a

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, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

and did not play during his tenure. A semester later, Brikowski transferred to play for the

Monmouth Hawks The Monmouth Hawks refer to the 23 sports teams representing Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey. The Hawks compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Coastal Athletic Association, joining on July 1, 2022. The football ...

Professional career

Lehigh Valley Steelhawks

In 2011, Brikowski played for the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks of the

. Brikowski was second place in the IFL Rookie of the Year voting, despite playing less than half of a season. Brikowski led the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks in sacks during his time with the team.

Cleveland Gladiators

Brikowski's play in the IFL helped him earn a spot with the

Cleveland Gladiators The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the ...

of the

in 2012. Brikowski has received notable achievements, being named "the player who made the biggest impact on the defensive front for the Gladiators by ESPN Cleveland." Brikowski returned to the Gladiators in 2013.

Chicago Rush

On May 15, 2013, Brikowski was traded to the

in exchange for Joe Phinisee and Jacob Hardwick. Following a fold from the team, Brikowski became a

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 ...

and later choose to sign with the

Cleveland Gladiators

On February 21, 2014, Brikowski signed with the Cleveland Gladiators. Brikowski played only 9 of the Cleveland Gladiators historic 17–1 record before signing with the Montreal Alouettes.

Montreal Alouettes

On May 31, 2014, Brikowski announced via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that he had signed with the

of the

. On July 31, 2014, Brikowski was activated from the practice squad to the playing roster. On June 20, 2015, the Montreal Gazette reported that Brikowski had been release from the team.

Cleveland Gladiators

Brikowski, for the third time, rejoined the Cleveland Gladiators after his release from the

Montreal Alouettes

Brikowski was signed to the Montreal Alouettes's practice roster on August 30, 2015.

Albany Empire

Brikowski was assigned to the Albany Empire on July 5, 2018. On April 15, 2019, Brikowski was assigned to the Empire. He was placed on recallable reassignment two days later.

References

External links

Montreal Alouettes bio
*https://web.archive.org/web/20121025085627/http://www.arenafootball.com/player/player-profile-brian-brikowski *https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025346/http://www.allstarincagency.com/contract-division/brian-brikowski-254.php * *https://web.archive.org/web/20140626125133/http://cfl.ca/roster/show/id/7315 *http://montrealgazette.com/sports/football/cfl/montreal-alouettes/alouettes-pare-roster-veteran-running-back-whitaker-among-those-releasedq {{DEFAULTSORT:Brikowski, Brian 1989 births Living people Players of American football from Monmouth County, New Jersey Players of Canadian football from New Jersey Albany Empire (AFL) players American football defensive ends Canadian football defensive linemen Monmouth Hawks football players Lehigh Valley Steelhawks players Cleveland Gladiators players Chicago Rush players Montreal Alouettes players Freehold Township High School alumni Sportspeople from Freehold Township, New Jersey