Kristjan Sokoli (born September 24, 1991) is an

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

n-born professional

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 ...

center for the

Houston Gamblers The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducing ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). He was drafted by 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 ...

in the sixth round of the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

.Seattle Seahawks select Albania native Kristjan Sokoli in sixth round of NFL draft
/ref> 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 ...

at Buffalo.

High school career

Sokoli's father, Gjon, fled from Shkodër, Albania to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

seeking

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around the time of the Albanian Rebellion of 1997 when Kristjan was five years old. During the period of economic instability in Albania, Gjon worked in monetary exchange. When Gjon first arrived in the United States, he made $45 per day as a maintenance worker in an apartment complex, and lived in the complex's basement with other workers. Kristan's mother, Gjyste, fled to America two years after Gjon. Kristjan and his younger brother, Mark, were not able to join their parents until another two years had passed. None of the family could speak

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

upon arriving. Although the Sokolis are now American citizens, Kristjan still listens to

Albanian music Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

, displays an

Albanian flag The flag of Albania ( sq, Flamuri i Republikës së Shqipërisë) is a red flag with a silhouetted black double-headed eagle in the center. The red stands for bravery, strength, valour and bloodshed, while the Eagle represents the sovereign state ...

and speaks

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

with his family. Edmir Sokoli, Kristjan's cousin who had come to the United States five years before Kristjan, introduced Sokoli to football when the latter was thirteen years old. Kristjan saw Edmir as a role model and looked up to him growing up. Sokoli, known as "Moose" by his high school coach, was a three-year letterwinner in football at Bloomfield High School in Bloomfield, New Jersey where he played

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

, left tackle,

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

, punter and

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

. He suffered fractures on his wrist before junior and senior year of high school, which set him back a bit. He led Bloomfield to consecutive playoff berths and was named an All-Conference player. He also started for Bloomfield's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team and finished eighth in the state in his junior year as a discus thrower and sixth in the state his senior year. He signed a

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to play at the University at Buffalo in early February of his senior year.

College career

At Buffalo, Sokoli moved to the defensive line full-time. When he committed to Buffalo, he stood at 6'5" and weighed 220 pounds. By his junior year, he weighed 300 pounds. He credited this to a diet of 7,000 calories per day. He

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 ...

during his freshman year. By his junior year, he had become a starter on the line and was an integral part of a Buffalo pass rush which was led by future first-round draft pick

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 ...

Khalil Mack Khalil Delshon Mack (; born February 22, 1991) is an American football outside linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Buffalo, and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders with the ...

. Sokoli would help Buffalo to the

2013 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl The 2013 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on December 21, 2013 at Bronco Stadium on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. The seventeenth annual Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, it featu ...

that season, its second bowl appearance ever and first since the 2008 season. During his senior year, he played in the 2015

Medal of Honor Bowl The Medal of Honor Bowl was an American college football all-star game played in Charleston, South Carolina, in January 2014 and 2015. The bowl was not sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Primary beneficiaries of th ...

. He majored in Business Administration and said that he would like to work on the

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if he could not make a living playing football.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Sokoli was not invited to the NFL's pre-draft

scouting combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Fo ...

. The

selected Sokoli in the sixth round of the

with the 214th overall pick. Despite taking two other collegiate offensive lineman in the draft, the Seahawks and offensive line coach Tom Cable discussed moving Sokoli from the defensive line to center, a position which Sokoli had never played before. He would become the first Albanian-born player to play in a

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 ...

game. He appeared in eight plays in the 2015 season, all on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

in Week 16. On August 30, 2016, Sokoli was waived by the Seahawks.

Indianapolis Colts

On September 26, 2016, Sokoli was signed to the Colts' practice squad as a

. He was promoted to the active roster on December 19, 2016. On June 15, 2017, Sokoli was waived by the Colts.

New Orleans Saints

On July 25, 2017, Sokoli signed with 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 ...

as an offensive lineman. He was waived on September 2, 2017, and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on September 6, 2017.

New York Giants

On December 27, 2017, Sokoli was signed to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Giants on January 1, 2018. On August 11, 2018, Sokoli was placed on injured reserve after suffering a torn ACL.

DC Defenders

In October 2019, Sokoli was selected by the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. The ...

in the open phase of the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

. He was waived during final roster cuts on January 22, 2020. Sokoli was assigned to the Alphas of

The Spring League The Spring League was an American football developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's go ...

Potsdam Royals

Sokoli was signed by the

Potsdam Royals The Potsdam Royals are an American football team from Potsdam, Germany. The club's greatest achievement is winning the championship in the last Eurobowl (2019) against the Amsterdam Crusaders just a year after they entered the German Football Lea ...

in 2021.

Houston Gamblers

On March 10, 2022, Sokoli was drafted by the

of the

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sokoli, Kristjan 1991 births Living people American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles American football offensive guards Albanian emigrants to the United States Bloomfield High School (New Jersey) alumni Buffalo Bulls football players DC Defenders players Indianapolis Colts players New Orleans Saints players New York Giants players People from Bloomfield, New Jersey People from Pukë Players of American football from New Jersey Seattle Seahawks players Sportspeople from Essex County, New Jersey The Spring League players Houston Gamblers (2022) players German Football League players Sportspeople from Shkodër