Dieter Johann Eiselen (born June 10, 1996) is a South African-born

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

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 eccentricity ...

for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and was signed by the Bears after the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

Early years

Eiselen was born and grew up in South Africa where he played rugby and competed in Olympic weightlifting. Eiselen came to America and played football at

Choate Rosemary Hall Choate Rosemary Hall (often known as Choate; ) is a Independent school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational, College-preparatory school, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Choate is currently ...

Wallingford, Connecticut Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, centrally located between New Haven and Hartford, and Boston and New York City. The population was 44,396 at the 2020 census. The community was named after Wallingford, in E ...

and helped lead the Wild Boars to an undefeated season and a New England NEPSAC 'A' Championship. Eiselen was also a letterman in

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

at Choate and made the Dean's list.

College career

Eiselen graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 2020 with degrees in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

. Eiselen started 34 games as a 4 year starter for the

Yale Bulldogs The Yale Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The school sponsors 35 varsity sports. The school has won two NCAA national championships in women's fencing, four in m ...

. In 2017, Eiselen was selected as a HERO Sports Sophomore All-American and an All-

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schoo ...

honorable mention after helping lead the

to an outright Ivy League Championship. In 2018, He was selected First-team All-

. In 2019, he was selected to Phil Steele's Preseason All-American Team, First-team All-

, the ECAC All-New England Team, the HERO Sports All-American Team, the STATS FCS All-American Team, and the AP FCS All-American Team after helping Yale to a no. 23/22 national ranking and a second Ivy League championship. Eiselen was selected to participate in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Pasadena, California at the Rose Bowl. He was also inducted into

National Football Foundation The National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit organization to promote and develop amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and "developing the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the dr ...

's Hampshire Honor Society.

Professional career

Eiselen was signed by the

as an undrafted free agent on May 7, 2020. He was waived on September 5, 2020, as part of final roster cuts, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on November 7 for the team's week 9 game against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

. On January 11, 2021, Eiselen signed a reserve/futures contract with the Bears. On August 31, 2021, Eiselen was waived by the Bears and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Bears on January 11, 2022. On August 30, 2022, Eiselen was waived by the Bears and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 26.

References

External links

Chicago Bears profile

Yale Bulldogs profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eiselen, Dieter 1996 births Living people American football offensive guards Chicago Bears players Yale Bulldogs football players Choate Rosemary Hall alumni People from Stellenbosch South African players of American football Sportspeople from the Western Cape