Jeffrey Alan Hartings (born September 7, 1972) is a former American 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 in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. 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 ...

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

, and earned all-American honors. A first-round pick of the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

in the

1996 NFL Draft The 1996 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 20–21, 1996, at the Paramount ...

, he played professionally for the Lions and

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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. He was a member of the Steelers'

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

championship team in 2005, beating the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

, and he was a two-time Pro Bowl selection. He is currently the head football coach at

Worthington Christian High School Worthington Christian School is a private Christian school in Worthington, Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The school was founded in 1973, and teaches grades kindergarten through twelve. As suggested by the name, the school teaches Christi ...

Early years

Hartings was born in St. Henry, Ohio. He attended

St. Henry High School St. Henry High School is a public high school located in St. Henry, Ohio, St. Henry, Ohio, United States. It is part of the St. Henry Consolidated Local Schools district. The school's teams are nicknamed the Redskins. The school is a member of the ...

, and was a

letterwinner In sports or activities in the United States, a letterman is a high school or college student who has met a specified level of participation or performance on a varsity team. Overview The term comes from the practice of awarding each such par ...

as a two-way starter and in track and field. In football, he was a two-time all-conference selection, helped lead his team to the state championship as a senior, and compiled 23 sacks and 200

tackle Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking ...

s. After his senior season, he participated in the Ohio North-South Game.

College career

Hartings attended Penn State University, where he played for coach Joe Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions football team from 1992 to 1995. He was a first-team All-American in 1994 and 1995, garnering consensus first-team honors in 1995. He graduated from Penn State with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing in 1995 and was twice honored as an Academic All-American.

Professional career

He selected with the 23rd overall pick of the

by the

, where he played from to . He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent in , where he moved from right guard to center. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2004 and 2005. Hartings retired following the 2006 season, citing recurring knee problems.

Coaching career

In April 2017, Hartings was named the head football coach at

Personal life

Hartings is one of ten children. A

born-again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...

, he has performed missionary work in Nicaragua and helped to start a new

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

church with former

teammate

Luther Elliss Luther John Elliss (born March 22, 1973) is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football for the University of Utah, and w ...

. Since his retirement, he and his wife Rebecca live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

with their eight children, Sierra, Michael, Lucas, Mianna, Isabella, Jullexa, Jovanna and Malachi. Jeff Hartings was a high school teammate and graduating classmate of former Ohio State, Philadelphia Eagle, and Oakland Raider quarterback Bobby Hoying at St. Henry High School, a school with an average graduating class of about 100 students. St. Henry High School also produced accomplished former NFL

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 ...

Jim Lachey James Michael Lachey (born June 4, 1963) is a radio analyst for Ohio State football and a former American football offensive tackle who played for ten seasons in the National Football League with the San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Raiders, and W ...

References

External links

Pittsburgh Steelers ProfileJeff Hartings at NFL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartings, Jeff 1972 births Living people All-American college football players American Conference Pro Bowl players American football centers Detroit Lions players Penn State Nittany Lions football players People from St. Henry, Ohio Pittsburgh Steelers players