Nolan Laufenberg (born March 25, 1999) is 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 ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

. 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 ...

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

and signed with 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 ...

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 ...

in 2021. Laufenberg has also been a member of the

Washington Commanders 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) East division ...

Early life and education

Nolan Laufenberg was born on March 25, 1999, in

Castle Rock, Colorado Castle Rock is a home rule town that is the county seat and the most-populous municipality of Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The town’s population was 73,158 at the 2020 census, a 51.68% increase since the 2010 census. Castle Ro ...

. He attended Castle View High School there, earning three varsity letters in football and two in

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 ...

. He was all-conference on offense in football in three of his four years, being twice on the first-team. Following his senior year of 2016, Laufenberg went to the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

, to play for their Falcon football team. As a true

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

in 2016, Laufenberg did not see any varsity action. As a sophomore in 2018, Laufenberg appeared in twelve games, and started nine. He played all thirteen games the following year, starting all but one. He was named first-team all-

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

and first-team all-Colorado following the season. The 2020 season was shortened due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, only allowing him to play six games.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

After going unselected in the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

, Laufenberg was signed by the

as an

. In order to play with Denver, he had to get the

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the United States federal executive departments, executive department of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces, a ...

's approval to delay his military service five years. He was waived on August 24, 2021.

Washington Football Team / Commanders

On September 28, 2021, Laufenberg 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 ...

of the

Washington Football Team 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) East division. ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract after the 2021 regular season ended. On August 30, 2022, Laufenberg was waived by the Commanders and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was placed on the practice squad

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 ...

on September 21. On January 4, 2023, he was activated off the injured list. Five days later, he signed another reserve/future contract. On August 29, 2023, Laufenberg was waived by the Commanders and re-signed to the practice squad. He was released on September 6, 2023. He was re-signed to the Commanders practice squad on November 2. He became a free agent when his practice squad contract expired after the season.

References

External links

Air Force Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laufenberg, Nolan Players of American football from Colorado American football offensive guards 1999 births Living people Air Force Falcons football players Denver Broncos players Washington Football Team players Washington Commanders players