Kory Adam Lichtensteiger (born March 22, 1985) 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 ...

center 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 was selected by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

in the fourth round of the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

. 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 ...

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

. Lichtensteiger also played for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

and spent seven seasons with 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 ...

Early life

Lichtensteiger played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Crestview High School in Convoy, Ohio where he was a four-year scholar athlete in both

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and football. During his time at Crestview, he was named a first-team All-

Northwest Conference The Northwest Conference (NWC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are located in the states of Oregon and Washington. It was known as the Pacific Northwest Conference from 1926 t ...

offensive and

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

. His other awards included conference Lineman of the Year in his junior and senior seasons, and First-team All-Ohio on both his junior and senior year.

College career

Lichtensteiger became a member of the Bowling Green State University football team in 2003. In his five years with the team, he received numerous honors including being chosen as a

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

and being named to All-

MAC Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

, Academic All-MAC and national

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 ...

lists. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his freshman year and played center on the

scout team The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of ...

. During his second year on the team, Lichtensteiger was moved to

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

. He started all 12 games that season and was named Second-team All-MAC and a

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

Freshman All-American. In his redshirt sophomore season, Lichtensteiger started all 11 games and was once again named Second-team All-MAC. As a junior, he was shifted back to center and started 12 games. On the field he was named First-team All-MAC and Co-MVP of the team. Off the field he was named to the Academic All-MAC team. In his final season with the Falcons, he was named pre-season First-team All-MAC. He started 13 games and was a finalist for 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 ...

and a semifinalist for the Draddy Trophy. Kory graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Lichtensteiger was considered the No. 4 center available in the

Denver Broncos

Lichtensteiger was selected by the

in the fourth round (108th overall). On Monday, July 21, 2008, Lichtensteiger signed a four-year contract with the Broncos. He joined the team as a backup center who could also fill in at guard. The Broncos waived Lichtensteiger on September 4, 2009.

Minnesota Vikings

Lichtensteiger was claimed off waivers by the

on September 6. He was waived on September 29.

Washington Redskins

Lichtensteiger signed a future contract with the

on January 12, 2010. He was reunited with head coach

Mike Shanahan Michael Edward Shanahan ( ; born August 24, 1952) is an American football coach, best known as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2008. During his fourteen seasons with the Broncos, he led th ...

, whom he played for in his rookie season with the Broncos. In his first season with the Redskins, he became the starting left guard of the offensive line. In the 2011 season, Lichtensteiger would be put on injured reserve after suffering a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

in his right knee in Week 6 against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. On March 3, 2012, the Redskins tendered an original round qualifying contract to Lichtensteiger, which would allow the Redskins to receive an additional fourth round pick if he were to sign with another team. On March 20, he signed his one-year, $1.26 million restricted free agent tender. Despite his ACL being fine, he had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to clean out floating particles in the knee on July 30 and missed the entire 2012 preseason. After missing the entire preseason, he was able to play and start in the season opener win against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. On December 18, the Redskins named him the winner of the 2012

Ed Block Courage Award The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to a player from each team in the National Football League (NFL) who are voted for by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a ...

for how well he recovered from his ACL tear in the previous season. Set to become a free agent for the 2013 season, Lichtensteiger agreed to a five-year deal with the Redskins on March 9, 2013. After the Redskins released Will Montgomery on March 14, 2014, they announced plans to shift Lichtensteiger from guard to center for the 2014 season. On November 10, 2015, the Redskins put Lichtensteiger on injured reserve with a designation to return after he suffered a pitched nerve in his neck. On September 27, 2016, Lichtensteiger was placed on injured reserve with a calf injury. He was designated for return on December 7, 2016, and was officially activated off injured reserve on December 10, 2016.

Retirement

On February 10, 2017, Lichtensteiger announced his retirement from the NFL. Washington released him from the reserve/retired list in April 2021.

References

External links

Washington Redskins bio

Bowling Green Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lichtensteiger, Kory 1985 births Living people People from Van Wert, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio American football centers American football offensive guards Bowling Green Falcons football players Denver Broncos players Minnesota Vikings players Washington Redskins players