Jeff Tarpinian (born October 16, 1987) is an Armenian-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 ...

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 ...

. He was signed 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 ...

as an

undrafted 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 2011. He played

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Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Early life

He was named 2005 Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year. He was selected to the first-team all-state and all-conference in his senior season. He was an honorable mention all-state in both his sophomore and junior season along with the second-team all-conference as a junior season.

College career

He was named to the Academic all-Big Ten in both his Freshman and Sophomore seasons.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Tarpinian went undrafted in the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

and signed with the New England Patriots as a rookie free agent in July, soon after the end of the 2011 NFL lockout. After being elevated to the active roster on September 22, he made the first defensive start of his NFL career on Sunday Night Football in Week 10 against the division rival

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

. He recorded 3 solo tackles and an assist in the team's 37–16 victory. On November 24, 2011, the Patriots placed Tarpinian on injured reserve, with the listed reason as a "head injury". It would be revealed years later that injury was in fact a

cerebral cavernous malformation Cavernous hemangioma, also called cavernous angioma, venous malformation, or cavernoma, is a type of venous malformation due to endothelial dysmorphogenesis from a lesion which is present at birth. A cavernoma in the brain is called a cerebral ...

that required brain surgery. Tarpinian was able to make a full recovery and return to the Patriots for the 2012 season, playing mainly on special teams.

Houston Texans

After spending time on the Carolina Panther's practice squad, the Houston Texans signed Tarpinian to their active roster in October 2013. He would go on to play in 8 games that season, making 3 starts. Tarpinian would return to the Texans in 2014, reuniting him with former Patriots Offensive Coordinator Bill O'Brien, who was hired that offseason as head coach. His role on the team that season was mainly on special teams. Tarpinian was released by the Texans in September 2015 before their final preseason game and became an unrestricted free agent.

References

External links

Iowa Hawkeyes bio

New England Patriots bioHouston Texans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarpinian, Jeff 1987 births Living people Players of American football from Omaha, Nebraska American football linebackers Iowa Hawkeyes football players New England Patriots players Carolina Panthers players Houston Texans players American sportspeople of Armenian descent People with cavernous hemangioma