Joel P. Makovicka (born October 6, 1975) 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 fullback for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West 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). 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

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

Career

Makovicka is one of the most decorated fullbacks in Husker history and owns the school record for a fullback with 13 career touchdowns from 1995 to 1998. During his stay at Nebraska, Makovicka was a two-time first-team

Academic All-American An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the ...

and three-time first-team Academic All-

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

performer. He also was a member of three national championship teams. The younger brother of another Husker walk-on fullback from

Brainard, Nebraska Brainard is a village in Butler County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 330 at the 2010 census. History Brainard was laid out in 1878 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named for David Brainerd, an American missio ...

, Jeff Makovicka, Joel finished his career with 1,447 yards rushing on an average of 5.9 yards per carry while making 22 starts for the scarlet and cream. As a junior, he produced the fourth-highest rushing total by a fullback in school history with 685 yards. He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the

1999 NFL draft The 1999 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 draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...

and started 10 games at fullback for the Cardinals as a rookie.

Post-playing career

After his football career he returned to school at

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

where he received his doctorate in physical therapy. He opened his first PT clinic in 2009 and now manages a practice with numerous clinics in the

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

and

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

metro area.

Personal life

Makovicka's cousin,

Michael Helman Michael James Helman (born May 23, 1996) is an American professional baseball utility player for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins. Amateur career Helman attended Pius X H ...

, plays in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the Texas Rangers.

References

1975 births Living people American football fullbacks Arizona Cardinals players Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Players of American football from Nebraska Creighton University alumni 20th-century American sportsmen {{Runningback-1970s-stub