Bryan Stork (born November 15, 1990) is an American former

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 ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

who played in 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). 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 ...

for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

, where he won the

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College Football Awards ...

in 2013. He was selected by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

in the fourth round of the

2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

In the span of 13 months, Stork was the starting center for Florida State's win in the

2014 BCS National Championship Game The 2014 BCS National Championship Game (branded as the 2014 Vizio BCS National Championship Game for sponsorship reasons) was the national championship game of the 2013 college football season, which took place on Monday, January 6, 2014, whi ...

as a senior, and the starting center as a rookie for the Patriots when they won

Super Bowl XLIX Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 NFL season, 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2014 New England Patriots season, New Eng ...

. His NFL career lasted only two years after a series of concussions and a failed trade.

Early life

A native of

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the county seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,354. Nicknamed "The Hibiscus City", Vero is situated about south ...

, Stork attended

Vero Beach High School Vero Beach High School (VBHS) is a 9–12 public high school in Vero Beach, Florida, Vero Beach, Florida, United States that was established in 1925. The school is operated by the Indian River County School District, and it's similar to Keyport ...

, where he was teammates with

Zeke Motta Ezekiel Ranieri Motta (born May 14, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Falcons in the seventh round of ...

. Stork played

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 ...

in high school, but was primarily a blocker in a run-based offense and registered 43

pancake block A pancake, also known as a hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack, is a flat type of batter bread like cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk, and butter, and then cooked on a hot surface such ...

s. In his senior year, Vero Beach finished 9–3 and lost in the second round of the playoffs to Royal Palm Beach. Regarded as a three-star recruit by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com (stylized as ''rivals'') is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was found ...

'', Stork was listed as the No. 26 tight end prospect in his class. He chose the Seminoles over offers from

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 ...

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

Central Florida Central Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, in ...

, and Florida International.

College career

After redshirting his initial year at Florida State, Stork was converted into an interior offensive lineman. He began the 2010 season as a reserve, but then had to replace sophomore David Spurlock at right guard midway through the

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 ...

game, after Spurlock suffered a concussion. Stork made his first career start the following week at

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

, but then missed the next two games with illness. Having lost his starting job, he returned to the field on the road at

, replacing Henry Orelus at right guard in the second quarter. Stork started the last three games of the season and graded out at 77 percent in the

2010 ACC Championship Game The 2010 ACC Championship Game was a college football game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Florida State Seminoles. The game, sponsored by Dr. Pepper, was the final regular-season contest of the 2010 college football season for the At ...

against

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

. He followed that performance up by grading out at 80 percent with a 92 pass grade in the

2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl The 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl was a college football bowl game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 31, 2010, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. EST. With sponsorship from Chick-fil-A, it was the 43rd edition of the game known thro ...

against

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Stork won the

in 2013 given to the nation's most outstanding center . As a senior in 2013, Stork was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selection. Stork is a member of the Florida State chapter of

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, alo ...

fraternity.

Professional career

Stork was selected by the

in the fourth round of the

. Stork signed his rookie contract on May 19, 2014. As a rookie, Stork started 11 regular season games for the Patriots, as well as two of the team's three playoff games; he missed the

AFC Championship game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal NFL playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football lea ...

with an knee injury. On February 1, 2015, the Patriots won

over the Seattle Seahawks. Stork became the fifth player ever to win a college national title and a Super Bowl in back to back years. Stork was placed on short-term

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

to start the 2015 season due to a concussion and a neck injury. He was activated on November 7, 2015, and the next day played guard and right tackle against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

due to a spate of injuries on the Patriots' offensive line. On August 24, 2016, Stork was traded to the

in exchange for a conditional 7th round pick in 2017. On August 29, before the trade was finalized, Stork failed his

physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, clinical examination, or medical checkup, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a Disease, medical condition. It generally consists of a series of ...

with the Redskins, which voided the trade. Stork was released by the Patriots later that day. On March 21, 2017, Stork announced his retirement from the NFL after not playing in 2016 after suffering multiple concussions during his two seasons in the league.

Coaching career

Stork was an offensive graduate assistant at

Southern Miss Golden Eagles football The Southern Miss Golden Eagles football program represents the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. They play college football in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The Eagles are currently members of the S ...

for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Since 2019, Stork has been the tight ends coach at

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was historically part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee under the Tennessee Board of Regents, but since 2016, ...

(ETSU). After the 2021

SoCon The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly kn ...

Championship season concluded at ETSU, in early March 2022, Stork was hired as the Offensive line coach at

University of the Cumberlands The University of the Cumberlands is a private Christian university in Williamsburg, Kentucky, United States. Over 20,000 students are enrolled at the university. History University of the Cumberlands, first called Williamsburg Institute, was f ...

Williamsburg, Kentucky Williamsburg is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Whitley County, on the southeastern border of Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,326 at the 2020 census. Developed along the Cumberland River, the city was founded in ...

References

External links

Florida State Seminoles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stork, Bryan 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Vero Beach, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football centers American football offensive guards Florida State Seminoles football players New England Patriots players All-American college football players Vero Beach High School alumni Southern Miss Golden Eagles football coaches East Tennessee State Buccaneers football coaches Coaches of American football from Florida Cumberlands Patriots football coaches