Blake Costanzo (born April 14, 1984) is a former

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

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He was signed by 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

in 2006. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

. Costanzo has also played for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

, and

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. He is currently an assistant coach at Ramapo High School (New Jersey).

Early years

He played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Ramapo High School in his

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

hometown as a linebacker and a tight end. He helped lead his team to two state championships. He played linebacker and tight end, and was awarded the Defensive Player of the Year Award. In his high school career, he recorded 210 tackles, 24 sacks, and 11 blocked punts. He was named three times to the All-League first-team, as well as the All-Bergen County first-team. In 2001, he was named the Defensive Player of the Year after recording 111 tackles, 15 sacks, and five blocked punts.

College career

2002

In 2002, Costanzo recorded 34 tackles and finish fourth among the Leopard freshmen in tackles. He also made two sacks, while leading the team in forced fumbles with two.

2003

In 2003, he ranked third among the Leopards and seventh in the

Patriot League The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Outside the Ivy League, it is among the most selective gr ...

with 94 total tackles. He also blocked a three kicks, and recorded 13 stops and blocked a PAT against the

Colgate Raiders The Colgate Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Colgate University. The teams include men and women's basketball, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, swimming & diving, track and field and tennis. Men's sports include g ...

. He also recorded 12 tackles and blocked two punts against

Towson Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorp ...

. He also recorded 12 tackles against Georgetown and Columbia, as well as recording his first career interception against Holy Cross.

2004

In 2004, he was the team's Most Outstanding Linebacker, as he ranked second on the team and seventh in the Patriot League with 93 tackles. He had 5.5 sacks, and recorded 1.5 sacks against Bucknell. Against the Holy Cross Crusaders, he made 12 tackles, forced a fumble, and blocked an extra point. Against the Columbia Lions, he made 11 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery. Against the

Fordham Rams The Fordham Rams are the varsity sports teams for Fordham University. Their colors are maroon and white. The Fordham Rams are members of NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports. In football, the Rams play in t ...

, he recorded a sack vs. Fordham, as well as blocking a fourth-quarter field goal against Colgate, along with recording a sack against

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

College statistics

Professional career

New York Jets

Costanzo was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

in 2006, and was on the

practice squad In sports, 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. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

until 2007.

Buffalo Bills

Costanzo played for the

in 2007 and 2009 seasons.

Cleveland Browns

In the 2010 season, Costanzo played in ten games before injuring his groin and being placed on injured reserve.

San Francisco 49ers

Costanzo was signed by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-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 of the league's National ...

in 2011. Costanzo was notable for forcing a fumble in the

2011–12 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2011 season began on January 7, 2012. The postseason tournament concluded with the New York Giants defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, 21–17, on February 5, at Lucas Oil Stadiu ...

against the

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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

on a kickoff and recovering another, en route to a 49ers 36–32 victory. In 61 career games, Costanzo has recorded 71 tackles on special teams with eight forced fumble/fumble recoveries (four force fumbles, four fumble recoveries). In the 2011 season, Costanzo recorded 17 special teams tackles, which ranks second on the 49ers.

Chicago Bears

Costanzo was signed by the

in 2012 on a two-year deal. General manager

Phil Emery Philip Allen Emery (born 25 June 1964) is a former Australian cricketer. A wicket-keeper and valuable left-handed batsman, he represented Australia internationally and New South Wales domestically. Born in St Ives, Sydney, Emery was educ ...

commented, "Blake has done some dynamic things as a special teams player, as is evident from his four forced fumbles with one of them in a playoff game against New Orleans this past year." Costanzo ended the 2013 season leading the Bears with 17 special teams tackles.

San Francisco 49ers

On June 3, 2014, Costanzo signed a one-year deal to return to the 49ers. He was released later in the year.

Career statistics

Source
''Retrieved on September 2, 2014''

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bioChicago Bears bioESPN bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Costanzo, Blake 1984 births Living people People from Franklin Lakes, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Ramapo High School (New Jersey) alumni American football linebackers Lafayette Leopards football players New York Jets players Rhein Fire players Buffalo Bills players Cleveland Browns players San Francisco 49ers players Chicago Bears players