Robert John Brotzki (born December 24, 1962) is a former American football

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

in the National Football League (NFL) 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

and the Dallas Cowboys. 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 ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

Early years

Brotzki attended St. Mary Central Catholic High School in

Sandusky, Ohio Sandusky ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Erie County, Ohio, Erie County, Ohio, United States. Situated along the shores of Lake Erie in the northern part of the state, Sandusky is located roughly midway between Toledo, Ohio, Toledo ( wes ...

, where he played as a tight end. He received All-state honors as a senior. He accepted a football scholarship from

. As a freshman, he was named the starter at tight end. He was limited with an injury for most of the season, while finishing fifth on the team with 15 receptions for 131 yards and no touchdowns. As a junior, he was switched to the offensive line and was named the starter at left tackle. He recorded 45 consecutive starts during his college career.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Brotzki was selected by the

in the ninth round (228th overall) of the

1986 NFL Draft The 1986 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1986, at the Marriott Marq ...

. As a rookie, he was moved to offensive guard, before being placed on the injured reserve list with a back injury on August 29. He was activated on November 7. He appeared in 2 games as a backup. In

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, he was moved in training camp to left tackle, while

Chris Hinton Christopher Jerrod Hinton (born July 31, 1961) is a former American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Indianapolis Colts franchise. In addition to his seven seasons wi ...

's recovered from the arthroscopic knee surgery he had in June. He also was tried at center. He missed the season opener and games from weeks 3 through 5. In

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, he was a backup

in training camp, before announcing his retirement. He re-signed with the team on September 22. He played in one game before being waived on September 28, to make room for guard Ron Solt.

Dallas Cowboys

On October 19,

, he was signed by the Dallas Cowboys. He appeared in 7 games and was declared inactive for 2 contests.

Atlanta Falcons

On February 21,

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, he was signed in Plan B free agency by 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. He was released on September 4.

Personal life

After football, he was the tight end assistant football coach for two years (2007-2008) at Robert Morris College. In 2009, he was the Director of Player Development at

. From 2010 to 2015, he was the Assistant Athletics Director for Player Development.

References

External links

Syracuse bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brotzki, Bob 1962 births Living people Sportspeople from Sandusky, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio American football offensive tackles Syracuse Orange football players Indianapolis Colts players Dallas Cowboys players Coaches of American football from Ohio Robert Morris Colonials football coaches Syracuse Orange football coaches