Dominic John DeCicco (born September 11, 1988) is an

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 ...

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

and former

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 works as an area scout for 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 ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was signed by the

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 ...

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 2011, and would also play for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. 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 ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Early life

DeCicco went to Thomas Jefferson High School, where he played wide receiver, quarterback, safety, cornerback, and kick/punt returner. He was called one of the most diverse athletes in the state his senior year throwing for over 1,000 yards, rushing for over 1,000 yards, and also returning a kick and punt for a touchdown. He would go on to win one PIAA and two

Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) is an interscholastic athletic association in Western Pennsylvania. It is District 7 of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. History The Western Pennsylvania Inte ...

championships. DeCicco was also a four-year letterman in basketball and 1,000-point scorer.

College career

DeCicco played for the Panthers as a strong safety. As a true freshman in 2007, DeCicco played in 10 games primarily on special teams, and garnered six tackles. In 2008, he played in all 13 games, while starting 11 at safety, recording 56 tackles and a team high four interceptions. In 2009, he was named to the second-team All- Big East team after having 88 tackles, three interceptions, and a forced fumble. He also was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week for week 8 against the

USF Bulls The South Florida Bulls (also known as the USF Bulls) are the athletic teams that represent the University of South Florida. USF competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the American Athletic Conference for all sports besides sailing, w ...

, where he recorded 10 tackles. DeCicco ranked seventh among Big East defenders with 7.8 tackles per game.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

DeCicco went undrafted in the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

, and was signed by the Bears. He played in all 16 games, and recorded 12 special teams tackles, which ranks second on the team. In 2012, DeCicco filled in for Brian Urlacher at middle linebacker during OTAs while he was out with a knee injury. On August 29, DeCicco was released by Chicago. On December 4, DeCicco was brought back by the Bears on a two-year contract. On May 13, 2013, DeCicco was released.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On July 31, 2013, DeCicco was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Minnesota Vikings

DeCicco signed with the

in May 2014. He was waived/injured by the Vikings on August 18, 2014. He was placed on the team's injured reserve list on August 19, 2014.

Post-playing career

In 2016, DeCicco was a scouting intern with the

before joining the organization as a scouting department assistant the following year.

References

External links

Chicago Bears bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Decicco, Dom 1988 births Living people People from Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area Players of American football from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania American football linebackers American football safeties Pittsburgh Panthers football players American people of Italian descent Chicago Bears players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Minnesota Vikings players San Francisco 49ers scouts