Jeffrey Alan Hartings (born September 7, 1972) is an American former professional

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 ...

player who was a

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 ...

for 11 seasons 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

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Penn State Lady Lions basketball, Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot ...

, earning

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors. A first-round pick of the

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 ...

in the

1996 NFL draft The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 20–21, 1996 NFL seas ...

, he played professionally for the Lions and

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 ...

. He was a member of the Steelers'

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

championship team in 2005, beating the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, and he was a two-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

selection. He is currently the head football coach at

Worthington Christian High School Worthington Christian School is a private Christian school in Worthington, Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The school was founded in 1973, and teaches grades kindergarten through twelve. The school includes two separate campuses, the Wort ...

Early life

Hartings was born in St. Henry, Ohio. He attended St. Henry High School, and was a letterwinner in

as a two-way starter and in

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

. In football, he was a two-time all-conference selection, helped lead his team to the state championship as a senior, and compiled 23

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 200 tackles. After his senior season, he participated in the Ohio North-South Game.

Career

College career

Hartings attended Penn State University, where he played for coach

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...

Penn State Nittany Lions football The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. Penn State Nittany Lions, The Nittany Lions compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

team from 1992 to 1995. He was a first-team

in 1994 and 1995, garnering consensus first-team honors in 1995. He graduated from Penn State with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

in 1995 and was twice honored as an

Academic All-America The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are give ...

Professional career

He was selected with the 23rd overall pick of the

by the

, where he played from to . He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as 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 ...

in , where he moved from

right guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

. He was selected to the

in 2004 and 2005. Hartings retired following the 2006 season, citing recurring knee problems.

Coaching career

In April 2017, Hartings was named the head football coach at

Personal life

Hartings is one of ten children. A

born-again Christian To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

, he has performed

missionary work A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

and helped to start a new

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...

church with former

teammate

Luther Elliss Luther John Elliss (born March 22, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Utah Utes and was recognized as a co ...

. Since his retirement, he and his wife Rebecca live in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

with their eight children, Sierra, Michael, Lucas, Mianna, Isabella, Jullexa, Jovanna and Malachi. Hartings was a high school teammate and graduating classmate of former Ohio State, Philadelphia Eagle, and Oakland Raider quarterback

Bobby Hoying Robert Carl Hoying (born September 20, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was selected in the third r ...

at St. Henry High School, a school with an average graduating class of about 100 students. St. Henry High School also produced accomplished former NFL

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 ...

Jim Lachey James Michael Lachey (born June 4, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Raiders, and Washington Redski ...

References

External links

Pittsburgh Steelers ProfileJeff Hartings at NFL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartings, Jeff 1972 births Living people All-American college football players American Conference Pro Bowl players American football centers Detroit Lions players Penn State Nittany Lions football players People from St. Henry, Ohio Sportspeople from Mercer County, Ohio Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Ohio