Jonathan Luigs (born August 11, 1986) is an American former college and professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
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 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). Luigs 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 ...
for the
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...
, earned consensus
All-American honors, and won the 2007
Rimington Trophy
The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982.
A member of the National College F ...
as the most outstanding
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 college football. Luigs played professionally for the NFL's
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
for a single season in 2009.
Early years
Luigs was born in
Little Rock, Arkansas
(The Little Rock, The "Little Rock")
, government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager
, leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_ ...
. He attended
Pulaski Academy
Pulaski Academy (PA) is a private, independent college preparatory preschool, elementary, and junior/senior high school headed by Brock Dunn in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood of Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. PA was established in 197 ...
in Little Rock, where he was a three-year starter on the offensive line, playing both center and offensive tackle as well as defensive end. He graded out at 90 percent or better in blocking in each of his three varsity seasons. In his senior season, Luigs helped Pulaski to win its first state championship (3A) in school history with a 13-2 mark. He was subsequently named to the Associated Press Arkansas Super Team and the ''Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' All-Arkansas Team.
Considered only a two-star recruit by
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
, Luigs was not listed among the nation's top offensive line prospects. In fact, he wasn't even listed as one of the top 10 prospects in Arkansas. As a result, he was not heavily recruited out of high school. He eventually picked Arkansas over an offer from
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
.
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
′s Chris Low would later pick Luigs for his "All-SEC recruiting nobodies" team.
College career
Luigs attended the
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...
, where he played for the
Arkansas razorbacks football
The Arkansas Razorbacks football program represents the University of Arkansas in the sport of American football. The Razorbacks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Weste ...
team from 2004 to 2007. After
redshirting as a true freshman in 2004, he became a starter on the Razorbacks offensive line at right guard after
Robert Felton moved from guard to right tackle. After occasionally filling the void at center for an ailing
Kyle Roper, Luigs started seven games at right guard and three games at center. Arkansas racked up 216.9 yards rushing per game to lead the SEC and ranked 12th nationally. The Hogs boasted a total of ten 100-yard rushing performances on the season, including five 100-yard efforts from SEC Freshman of the Year
Darren McFadden
Darren McFadden (born August 27, 1987) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the first round with the fourth overall pick of the 2008 NFL Dra ...
.
In his sophomore campaign, Luigs established himself as one of the top centers in the nation. He was at the center of an offensive front that cleared the way for thirteen 100-yard rushing performances in 14 games and allowed only nine sacks in 14 games (0.64) to rank second nationally in fewest sacks allowed. In addition, for only the third time in SEC history, Arkansas featured two 1,000-yard running backs in Darren McFadden and
Felix Jones
Felix Jones Jr. (born May 8, 1987) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at the University of Arkansas and was drafted by the ...
on the same team. Luigs was a finalist for the 2006
Dave Rimington Trophy
The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982.
A member of the National College F ...
, awarded to college football's best center, but lost out to
Dan Mozes
Daniel Mozes (born September 15, 1983) is an American former football center who last was a member of the Minnesota Vikings the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for West Virginia University, earned unanimous All-Amer ...
. He also earned third-team All-America honors from the Associated Press and first-team sophomore All-America honors from ''College Football News''.
As a junior, Luigs was the centerpiece of an offensive line that helped Arkansas lead the
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
(SEC) and rank fourth in the nation in rushing (286.5), rank second in the SEC and No. 17 in the nation in total offense. He had a team-leading overall grade of 90.36 for the season, including marks of 86.0 on running plays and a team-best 96.9 on passing plays. He also had 55 knockdown blocks, which ranked second on the team. Luigs was named to numerous All-America teams following his junior season in 2007, and on December 6, 2007, was named as the winner of the 2007 Rimington Trophy.
Finishing his career with a string of 49 consecutive starts, Luigs was again named a finalist for the Rimington Trophy. He delivered 66 knockdowns and graded 85.42 percent for blocking consistency. However, Arkansas offensive line was the main problem all season, as they placed 118th among the 119 major colleges, allowing 46
quarterback sack
In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in th ...
s for the season.
Professional career
Regardless of his up-and-down senior season at Arkansas, Luigs was considered one of the best centers available in the
2009 NFL Draft
The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth 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. T ...
.
He drew comparisons to
Ryan Kalil
Ryan Joseph Kalil (born March 29, 1985) is an American film and television producer and former NFL center. He played college football at USC, where he was a member of two national championship teams, was named a first-team All-American, and won ...
,
and was projected a third-round pick.
Luigs was selected by the Bengals in the fourth round, 106th overall. He signed a four-year, $2.26 million deal with a $509,000 signing bonus. A backup to
Kyle Cook
David Kyle Cook (born August 29, 1975) is an American musician best known as a member of the band Matchbox Twenty, serving as the lead guitarist, banjo player, backing and occasional lead vocalist.
Career Matchbox Twenty
Kyle Cook joined Mat ...
in the
2009 NFL season
The 2009 NFL season was the 90th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). The 50th anniversary of the original eight charter members of the American Football League was celebrated during this season.
The preseason started ...
, Luigs played in eight games for the Bengals before being waived on August 17, 2010, after one season with the team.
[.]
References
External links
Cincinnati Bengals bioArkansas Razorbacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luigs, Jonathan
1986 births
Living people
All-American college football players
American football centers
Arkansas Razorbacks football players
Cincinnati Bengals players
Players of American football from Little Rock, Arkansas