Tanor Bortolini (born June 17, 2002) is an American 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 ...

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 ...

for 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 ...

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

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

and was selected by the Colts in the fourth round of the

2024 NFL draft The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...

Early life

Bortolini was born in

Kewaunee, Wisconsin Kewaunee is a city in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,837 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the northwestern shore of Lake Michigan, the city is the county seat of Kewaunee County. Its Menom ...

where he attended Kewaunee High School. Coming out of high school Bortolini held offers from schools such as Harvard, Yale, Iowa, Miami, and Wisconsin. Bortolini committed to play

for the

College career

In Bortolini's freshman season in the

COVID 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 ...

shortened 2020 season, he played in just two games. During the 2021 season, Bortolini played in ten games making five starts at guard. In the 2022 season, Bortolini appeared in eleven games making ten starts, while allowing just one sack on the season; for his performance, he was named honorable mention all-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

. Bortolini entered the 2023 season, as the Badgers' starting

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 week three of the 2023 season in a win over

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, with additional campuses in Savannah ( Armstrong Campus) and Hine ...

, Bortolini struggled making three errant snaps. During the 2023 season, Bortolini played in 12 games starting in all of them while earning the highest PFF grade on the Badgers. For his performance on the 2023 season, Bortolini was named third team all-Big Ten. After the conclusion of the 2023 season, Bortolini declared for the

. In Bortolini's career he played in 34 games making 28 starts, while starting games at

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

, guard, and center.

Professional career

Bortolini was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the 4th round (117th overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft. His early development was hindered by a sprained big toe suffered in the team's second preseason game, an injury which sidelined him from practice for the rest of preseason.Joel A. Erickson
"How 6-4, 303-pound Colts Rookie Tanor Bortolini Ended Up Racing Down the Sidelines in Joy,"
''Indianapolis Star,'' www.indystar.com, Oct. 2, 2024. He first started for the Colts in their week 4 home game against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, owing to a neck injury suffered in practice by veteran starting center Ryan Kelly. Bortolini was able to take practice reps with the first team for two practices preceding the Steeler game, helping him ease into the starting role. During the first series of the game, the Colts capped a long drive with a powerful Bortolini block leading running back Jonathan Taylor into the end zone for a touchdown. Bortolini captured attention racing the length of the Colts' sideline slapping high-fives with anyone within reach. After the game, Colts

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

Jim Bob Cooter James Robert Cooter (born July 3, 1984) is an American professional football coach who is the offensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Detro ...

quipped, "Man, first game, he was damn sure excited to be out there. We’re trying to get the GPS data on that top speed there."

References

External links

Indianapolis Colts bio

Wisconsin Badgers bio

"Indianapolis Colts' Tanor Bortolini Excited to Get to Work with Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly,"
Locked on Colts, via YouTube.com, April 27, 2024. (Video.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bortolini, Tanor 2002 births Living people Players of American football from Wisconsin American football centers American football offensive guards Wisconsin Badgers football players Indianapolis Colts players American people of Italian descent