Michael Caputo (born October 26, 1992) is an American

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 ...

coach and former player. He played college football for the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

. He is currently working as the safeties and

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

coach for the Buffalo Bulls.

Early life

College career

2011–2014

Caputo attended the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

where he played

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for the

Wisconsin Badgers football The Wisconsin Badgers football program represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the sport of American football. Wisconsin competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Bi ...

team from 2011 through 2015. He was a starter for three seasons, 2013–2015. Caputo's freshman year he was a member of the scout team and received a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) 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 ...

. In 2012, he played in 13 games, and only recorded ten tackles. For the 2013 season Caputo earned a starting spot at safety despite missing all of spring training after undergoing neck surgery. Caputo started 12 of 13 games. By the end of the season Caputo tallied 63 tackles which ranked 2nd on the entire team. In the 2014 season Caputo led the team in tackles with 106 tackles and was a consensus 2nd team All-Big Ten pick as well being named 2nd team All-American by the

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 ...

2015

In the off season Caputo was named team captain for the 2015 season. Prior to the season starting Caputo was named to numerous preseason award watchlists, including the Lott IMPACT Trophy, Bednarik Award,

Bronko Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athle ...

and Jim Thorpe Award. In the season opener against

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, on the third play of the game, Caputo went down hard while tackling runningback Derrick Henry. After the play Caputo tried to join the Alabama huddle, shortly thereafter the referees called timeout and Caputo was later diagnosed with a concussion. Caputo played in the 2016 East–West Shrine Game which was played at

Tropicana Field Tropicana Field (nicknamed "The Trop") is a domed multipurpose stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. "The Trop" was the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season, 1998 to ...

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

. He recorded three tackles, two passes defensed and two interceptions. One of the interceptions was on former teammate Joel Stave which Caputo returned for 66 yards and was eventually tackled by Stave on the 11-yard line, preventing a pick six. After the game, Caputo was named the defensive MVP.

College statistics

:''source'

Professional career

Caputo trained at Fischer Sports Institute in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

for the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

in February and Wisconsin's Pro Day in March, ultimately in preparation for the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. Caputo did not receive an invite to the NFL Combine and worked out at Wisconsin's Pro Day on March 9, 2016.

New Orleans Saints

After going unselected in the

, Caputo signed with 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 ...

as an undrafted free agent on May 1, 2016. He was released by New Orleans on May 16.

Los Angeles Rams

Caputo was signed by the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

on August 15, 2016. On August 30, Caputo was released by the Rams.

References

External links

Wisconsin Badgers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caputo, Michael Living people Players of American football from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania American football safeties Wisconsin Badgers football players Los Angeles Rams players 1992 births Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania LSU Tigers football coaches Utah State Aggies football coaches Baylor Bears football coaches Wisconsin Badgers football coaches Buffalo Bulls football coaches