Nate Broe Hobgood-Chittick (November 30, 1974 – November 11, 2017) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

who played four seasons 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 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

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

, and spent time with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

Early life and education

Hobgood-Chittick was born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, on November 30, 1974. He attended

William Allen High School William Allen High School, often referred to as Allen High School or simply Allen, is one of two large, urban state school, public secondary education in the United States, high schools of the Allentown School District in Allentown, Pennsylvania. ...

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

, and 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 ...

at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

, where he received a full collegiate football scholarship. At North Carolina, Hobgood-Chittick was roommates with teammate

Jeff Saturday Jeffrey Bryant Saturday (born June 18, 1975) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a center in the NFL, primarily with the Indianapolis Colts. He was a six-time Pro Bow ...

, and later recalled that "Jeff kicked our asses all over the practice field. I could count on one hand the number of times I beat him in a one-on-one drill, and if it happened, I celebrated."

Career

National Football League

Hobgood-Chittick later brought Saturday to the attention of the

during the 1998 season, saying:

I had no footing at all with that franchise, so I stood outside
Bill Polian William Patrick Polian Jr. (born December 8, 1942) is an American former professional football executive. He rose to league prominence as the general manager of the Buffalo Bills, building a team that participated in four straight Super Bowls— ...
's door in my dirty sweats, saying a prayer. I walked in and said, "There's a guy selling electrical supplies in
Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
right now who whipped all those first-round draft choices at North Carolina every day." Polian looked at me and said, "I love it. Let's get him in here for a workout."

Saturday went on to be selected to six

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

s over his NFL career, and win

Super Bowl XLI Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2006 Indianapolis Colts season, Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2006 Chicago Bears season, Chicag ...

. Hobgood-Chittick also was a member of the

team that won

Super Bowl XXXIV Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...

over the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

Post-NFL career

Upon retiring, Hobgood-Chittick earned his master's degree in social work from

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

, and became a financial advisor.

Death

On November 11, 2017, at age 42, Hobgood-Chittick died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Sherman Oaks, California Sherman Oaks (founded in 1927) is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California within the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density ...

References

External links

Nate Hobgood-Chittick
at

Pro Football Reference Pro Football Reference (PFR) is an online statistics database for professional American football maintained by Sports Reference. The site provides career statistics for players, teams, and games, as well as records and NFL draft history. PFR was ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobgood-Chittick, Nate 1974 births 2017 deaths American football defensive tackles Indianapolis Colts players Kansas City Chiefs players North Carolina Tar Heels football players New York Giants players Players of American football from Allentown, Pennsylvania Players of American football from New Haven, Connecticut San Francisco 49ers players St. Louis Rams players William Allen High School alumni