Robert Bruggeman (born March 21, 1986) 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

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

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

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

and was signed by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

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 2009. He has also been a member of the

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 ...

Early life

Bruggeman went to

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

at Washington High School in

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in u ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, where he earned the nickname "Big Frame" and three varsity letters playing both offensive and defensive line. During his sophomore year, Rob garnered honorable mention All- Mississippi Valley Conference honors. During his junior and senior seasons, Bruggeman earned first-team All-Conference distinction as well as elite first team All-State honors. Bruggeman also helped the Warriors post a 21-2 record over those two years, with one loss coming at the end of each season. He was high school teammates with

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 ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

Adrian Arrington.

College career

After a highly successful high school career, Rob decided to attend the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

as a preferred walk-on with teammate Gavin McGrath in 2004. After redshirting during his first year with the Hawkeyes in 2004, Rob saw action in games against

Ball State Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. T ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

during the 2005 season. Injuries limited his playing time in 2006, but Bruggeman was able to contribute in several games towards the end of 2007. Though he was unable to play in the first 9 games of the season due to injury, Bruggeman saw action against Northwestern,

, and

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

to end the Hawkeyes' 2007 campaign. Iowa's 2008 season turned out to be a formative one for Bruggeman, starting with first-string center designation from Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz following spring practice. Bruggeman started every game at center for the Hawkeyes in 2008, including their resounding

Outback Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Tampa, Florida. The event was known as the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to 2022. It was held at Tampa Stadium from 1986 until 1999, when it ...

victory over 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 ...

. Bruggeman earned first team District Seven Academic All-America honors and Academic All-Big Ten accolades following his senior season. He was named to the second team All-Big Ten list by the league’s coaches and media.

Professional career

Pre-draft

After playing at center for the Hawkeyes, Bruggeman was one of 330 players invited to the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

Scouting Combine. Because of a lingering injury, Bruggeman opted not to participate in the running drills at the combine, but did post an impressive 30 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press exercise, good for 10th best among offensive linemen and 19th best among all combine participants. He later improved his measurables at the Iowa Pro Day.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After going undrafted during the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...

, Bruggeman was signed to a free agent deal by the

on May 1, 2009. He played in all four pre-season games. He was waived by the Buccaneers in September 2009.

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons signed Bruggeman as a free agent on September 7, 2009. He was added to the Falcons' practice squad on September 8. After his contract expired following the season, Bruggeman was signed to a future contract on January 4, 2010. He was waived on September 12, 2011.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs added Bruggeman to their practice squad on November 29, 2011, one day after waiving

Jared Gaither Jared Dwight Gaither (born March 18, 1986) is an American former professional football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2007 supplemental draft. H ...

and promoting David Sims from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.

References

External links

Iowa Hawkeyes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruggeman, Rob 1986 births Living people Players of American football from Cedar Rapids, Iowa American football centers Iowa Hawkeyes football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Atlanta Falcons players