Patrick Scott DiMarco (born April 30, 1989) 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 a fullback 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 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

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

and was signed by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

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 2011. He was also a member of the

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 ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. DiMarco is currently an analyst on the football staff for the Gamecocks.

Early life

DiMarco attended and played football at Lake Brantley High School in

Altamonte Springs, Florida Altamonte Springs is a suburban city in Central Florida in Seminole County, Florida, Seminole County, Florida, United States, which had a population of 46,231 at the 2020 United States census. The city is in the northern suburbs of the Greater O ...

, where he played on both offense and defense. Rated a two-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com, DiMarco was recruited by UCF,

USF USF may refer to: Universities * University of Saint Francis (Indiana), Ft. Wayne, Indiana * University of San Francisco, California * University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida * University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois * University of Sioux ...

, Northwestern, Florida Atlantic, and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

.Patrick DiMarco Bio
. gamecocksonline.com. Retrieved August 17, 2016.

College career

DiMarco played

from 2007 to 2010 under coach

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nicknam ...

.Muller, Brad
Catching Up with Patrick DiMarco
gamecocksonline.com. March 24, 2015. At South Carolina, DiMarco played

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

and fullback. In four seasons, he recorded 38 receptions for 302 yards and six

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

Professional career

San Diego Chargers

DiMarco was signed by the

as an

on July 26, 2011. He was released on August 7, 2011 after fracturing a bone in his foot.

Kansas City Chiefs

On August 2, 2012, DiMarco was signed by the

. On May 2, 2013, the Chiefs released DiMarco.

Atlanta Falcons

On May 30, 2013, DiMarco was signed by the

.Adams, Jay
Falcons Sign FB Patrick DiMarco
May 30, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2016. On February 24, 2015, he signed a two-year contract extension with the Falcons. In Week 5, against the

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

, he caught a 13-yard pass for his first career reception. In Week 4 of the 2014 season, he caught his first career

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

pass in a 41–28 loss to 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 ...

. Leading into Week 4 of the 2015 NFL season, DiMarco was graded out as the best fullback in the NFL by

Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...

(PFF) grading.Khaled
Best players at every position for Week 4 2015
Retrieved August 17, 2016. In Week 11, against 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 ...

, he had three receptions for 21 yards and two touchdowns for his first career multi-touchdown game. DiMarco won the Falcons'

Walter Payton Man of the Year Award Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year is an award presented annually by the National Football League (NFL) honoring a player's commitment to philanthropy and community impact, as well as his excellence on the field. Prior to 1999, it was called si ...

nominee for the 2015 Season.DiMarco Honored for Impact in the Community
AtlantaFalcons.com. December 2, 2015. August 17, 2016. PFF listed DiMarco as a First-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

fullback for

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

.Khaled
2015 PFF’s All-Pro team
Pro Football Focus. Retrieved August 17, 2016. In 2015, DiMarco was elected to his first

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 ...

and was a second-team All-Pro.McClure, Vaughn
Pro Bowl alternate Desmond Trufant feels underrated
ESPN. December 24, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2016.McClure, Vaughn
Falcons' Patrick DiMarco honored to make All-Pro second-team
ESPN.com. January 9, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016. The Falcons would reach

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 NFL season, 2016 season. The American Football Confe ...

in the 2016 season. Against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, DiMarco had two receptions for 12 yards in the 34–28 overtime defeat.

Buffalo Bills

On March 9, 2017, DiMarco signed a four-year contract with the

. In the 2017 season, DiMarco appeared in all 16 games and recorded nine starts to go along with seven receptions for 28 receiving yards. In the 2018 season, DiMarco appeared in all 16 games and recorded five starts to go along with three receptions for 62 receiving yards. In the 2019 season, DiMarco appeared in all 16 games and recorded four starts to go along with five receptions for 41 receiving yards. On September 4, 2020, DiMarco was placed on

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 ...

, and was released with an injury settlement four days later. On January 28, 2021, DiMarco announced his retirement from football.

Post-playing career

DiMarco joined the staff at his alma mater

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

as an analyst and assistant director of football relations.

Personal life

DiMarco is the nephew of

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

Chris DiMarco Christian Dean DiMarco (born August 23, 1968) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. DiMarco has won eight tournaments as a pro, including three PGA Tour events. Early life Born in Huntington, New York, DiMarco ...

References

External links

South Carolina Gamecocks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:DiMarco, Patrick 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Altamonte Springs, Florida Players of American football from Seminole County, Florida American football tight ends American football fullbacks Lake Brantley High School alumni South Carolina Gamecocks football players San Diego Chargers players Kansas City Chiefs players Atlanta Falcons players Buffalo Bills players Unconferenced Pro Bowl players South Carolina Gamecocks football coaches Coaches of American football from Florida