Brian Jeffrey Mihalik (born August 21, 1992) 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 ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

. 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 ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

and was selected in the seventh round (237th overall) of the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. Mihalik was also a member of the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL).

College career

In his freshman season in 2011, Mihalik had six

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 ...

and two pass breakups, playing the last nine games of the season. He played nine games as a sophomore in 2012, registering 22 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and a

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), ...

. As a junior in 2013, he recorded 22 tackles, including six for loss and two sacks. In his 2014 senior season, Mihalik tallied 27 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for a loss, and 3.5 sacks.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Mihalik was projected to go undrafted during the

by some analysts. Although he had amazing size and length, many were hampered by his athletic ability, strength, and awareness.

Philadelphia Eagles

Mihalik was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the seventh round of the 2015 NFL draft with the 237th overall pick. Mihalik was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

after failing to make the 53-man roster, but was released on September 16.

Pittsburgh Steelers (first stint)

After being released, Mihalik was signed to a futures contract by the

on January 20, 2016. Despite spending his collegiate career as a

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 having no prior experience, the Steelers chose to move him to

. He is similar to Steelers' teammate Alejandro Villanueva, who had success after moving to tackle the year prior. Both players stand at 6 feet 9 inches, played defensive end for the Eagles before being released, had no professional experience as offensive linemen before being switched to tackle by offensive line coach

Mike Munchak Michael Anthony Munchak (born March 5, 1960) is an American former professional football player and coach. After playing college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, Munchak played as a guard for the Houston Oilers of the National Footb ...

. On August 12, 2016, Mihalik injured his MCL during the Steeler's preseason opener against the

. He was waived two days later and reached an injury settlement with the Steelers on August 19, 2016.

Detroit Lions (first stint)

On October 6, 2016, Mihalik was signed by the Lions and was released two days later and was then signed to the practice squad. The Detroit Lions signed him after seeing him during their preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Pittsburgh Steelers (second stint)

October 17, 2016, the Steelers signed Mihalik off the Lions' practice squad. Although he had less than a year of experience as an offensive tackle, injuries to Ryan Harris and Marcus Gilbert led to Mihalik moving to the active roster. Mihalik did not appear in any regular season games during his rookie season. On September 2, 2017, Mihalik was waived by the Steelers.

Detroit Lions (second stint)

On September 3, 2017, Mihalik was claimed off waivers by the Lions. He was named the backup left tackle behind Greg Robinson to begin the regular season. Mihalik had his first professional catch on November 6, 2017 on ''

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

'' against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

when a

Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs football, Georg ...

pass was tipped at the line and was hauled in by Mihalik. On September 2, 2018, Mihalik was waived by the Lions.

New York Giants

On September 13, 2018, Mihalik was signed to the

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 9, 2018. On September 1, 2019, Mihalik was released by the Giants.

References

External links

Boston College Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mihalik. Brian 1992 births Living people American football offensive tackles Boston College Eagles football players Detroit Lions players New York Giants players People from Avon Lake, Ohio Philadelphia Eagles players Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Lorain County, Ohio