Mitch Hyatt (born February 6, 1997) 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 an

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for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

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

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Divis ...

, earning consensus

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 in 2018.

Early years

A native of

Sugar Hill, Georgia Sugar Hill is a city in northern Gwinnett County in the U.S. state of Georgia, included within the Metro Atlanta area. The population was 25,076 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Gwinnett County. It is in close proxim ...

, Hyatt attended

North Gwinnett High School North Gwinnett High School is a public high school in Suwanee, Georgia, United States. It is part of the district Gwinnett County Public Schools. The school's principal is Nathan Ballantine. History North Gwinnett High School was established ...

, where he was three-year starter at left tackle for the Bulldogs, and an All-American offensive lineman as a senior. In Hyatt's sophomore year, North Gwinnett faced defending state champion Grayson in the second round of the GHSA Class 6A playoffs, upsetting them 28–10, as Hyatt reportedly played Grayson's

blue chip Blue chip may refer to: * Blue casino token * Blue chip (stock market), a corporation with a national reputation for quality, reliability, and the ability to operate profitably * Blue chip (sports), collegiate athletes who are targeted by professio ...

defensive end

Robert Nkemdiche Robert Chukwudumebi Nkemdiche ( ; born September 19, 1994) is an American professional football defensive tackle. He most recently played for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He attended the University of Mississippi for ...

“to a draw.” After an All-State junior season, in which he helped pave the way for North’s run to a GHSA Class 6A state runner-up finish, Hyatt verbally committed to Clemson.

College career

Listed first team on the depth chart entering August camp in 2015, Hyatt was scheduled to become the first freshman since Barry Richardson in 2004 to start on the offensive line for Clemson. He started the season opener against Wofford at left tackle, the first true-freshman to do so for the Tigers since Phil Prince in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

. Hyatt was part of the Clemson team that defeated

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 ...

in the

2017 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game that was played on January 9, 2017, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The third College Football Playoff National Championship, the game determine ...

by a score of 35–31. In 2017, Hyatt was named as the recipient of the

Jacobs Blocking Trophy The Jacobs Blocking Trophy is the name of several similar annual college football awards bestowed by a conference upon their best blocker. The awards are named in honor of William P. Jacobs, son of the founder and president of Presbyterian Colleg ...

for the ACC's most outstanding blocker. Hyatt was the 8th Clemson lineman to receive this award, and the first since 1987. As a senior in 2018, Hyatt became the 13th repeat winner of the

. He also became the Tigers' all time leader in snaps from scrimmage during the 2018 Louisville game. He finished with school records in career starts (57) and snaps played (3,754). He was a three-time first-team All-ACC selection and twice received the

as the

ACC Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s D ...

top

offensive 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 ( ...

Professional career

Hyatt was signed 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 ...

by the

after the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

on April 30. He struggled during preseason as a backup

left tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

and was released on August 31. He was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on September 2. He was promoted to the active roster on December 10, 2019. He was declared inactive for the last 3 games. On August 27, 2020, he suffered a torn right ACL during practice. On September 2, he was waived/injured by the Cowboys. He subsequently reverted to the team's

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

list the next day. In 2021, he suffered a knee sprain during conditioning work in OTAs. On July 27, 2021, Hyatt was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Personal life

His uncle,

Dan Benish Daniel James Benish (born November 21, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers. Benish played in the NFL for th ...

, was an All-ACC defensive tackle and a starter on Clemson’s 1981 National Championship team.

References

External links

*
Clemson Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyatt, Mitch 1997 births Living people Players of American football from Suwanee, Georgia North Gwinnett High School alumni American football offensive tackles Clemson Tigers football players All-American college football players Dallas Cowboys players