Kory Adam Lichtensteiger (born March 22, 1985) 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 wi ...

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 ...

who played 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). He was drafted by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

. Lichtensteiger also played for the

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 expansi ...

and spent seven seasons with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

Early life

Lichtensteiger 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 Crestview High School in Convoy, Ohio where he was a four-year scholar athlete in both

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and football. During his time at Crestview, he was named a first-team All-

Northwest Conference The Northwest Conference (NWC) is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are located in the states of Oregon and Washington. It was known as the Pacific Northwest Conference from 1926 to 1984. History ...

offensive and defensive lineman. His other awards included conference Lineman of the Year in his junior and senior seasons, and First-team All-Ohio on both his junior and senior year.

College career

Lichtensteiger became a member of the Bowling Green State University football team in 2003. In his five years with the team, he received numerous honors including being chosen as a

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

and being named to All- MAC, Academic All-MAC and national All-American lists. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his freshman year and played center on the

scout team The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

. During his second year on the team, Lichtensteiger was moved to

offensive guard 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 in ...

. He started all 12 games that season and was named Second-team All-MAC and a Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-American. In his redshirt sophomore season, Lichtensteiger started all 11 games and was once again named Second-team All-MAC. As a junior, he was shifted back to center and started 12 games. On the field he was named First-team All-MAC and Co-MVP of the team. Off the field he was named to the Academic All-MAC team. In his final season with the Falcons, he was named pre-season First-team All-MAC. He started 13 games and was a finalist for the

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 ...

and a semifinalist for the Draddy Trophy. Kory graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree.

Professional career

Lichtensteiger was considered the No. 4 center available in the 2008 NFL Draft. He was selected by the

in the fourth round (108th overall).

Denver Broncos

On Monday, July 21, 2008, Lichtensteiger signed a four-year contract with the Broncos. He joined the team as a backup center who could also fill in at guard. The Broncos waived Lichtensteiger on September 4, 2009.

Minnesota Vikings

Lichtensteiger was claimed off waivers by the

on September 6. He was waived on September 29.

Washington Redskins

Lichtensteiger signed a future contract with the

on January 12, 2010. He was reunited with head coach

Mike Shanahan Michael Edward Shanahan (born August 24, 1952) is a former American football coach, best known as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2008. During his fourteen seasons with the Broncos, he le ...

, whom he played for in his rookie season with the Broncos. In his first season with the Redskins, he became the starting left guard of the offensive line. In the 2011 season, Lichtensteiger would be put on injured reserve after suffering a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

in his right knee in Week 6 against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

. On March 3, 2012, the Redskins tendered an original round qualifying contract to Lichtensteiger, which would allow the Redskins to receive an additional fourth round pick if he were to sign with another team. On March 20, he signed his one-year, $1.26 million restricted free agent tender. Despite his ACL being fine, he had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to clean out floating particles in the knee on July 30 and missed the entire 2012 preseason. After missing the entire preseason, he was able to play and start in the season opener win 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 December 18, the Redskins named him the winner of the 2012

Ed Block Courage Award The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to a player from each team in the National Football League (NFL) who are voted for by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a ...

for how well he recovered from his ACL tear in the previous season. Set to become a free agent for the 2013 season, Lichtensteiger agreed to a five-year deal with the Redskins on March 9, 2013. After the Redskins released Will Montgomery on March 14, 2014, they announced plans to shift Lichtensteiger from guard to center for the 2014 season. On November 10, 2015, the Redskins put Lichtensteiger on injured reserve with a designation to return after he suffered a pitched nerve in his neck. On September 27, 2016, Lichtensteiger was placed on injured reserve with a calf injury. He was designated for return on December 7, 2016 and was officially activated off injured reserve on December 10, 2016.

Retirement

On February 10, 2017, Lichtensteiger announced his retirement from the NFL. Washington released him from the reserve/retired list in April 2021.

References

External links

Washington Redskins bio

Bowling Green Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lichtensteiger, Kory 1985 births Living people People from Van Wert, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio American football centers American football offensive guards Bowling Green Falcons football players Denver Broncos players Minnesota Vikings players Washington Redskins players Ed Block Courage Award recipients