Lyle Sendlein (born March 16, 1984) 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 with ...

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 ...

. He was signed by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

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 2007. 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 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Early years

Coached by Ron Estabrook at Chaparral High School in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

, Sendlein was a four-year

letter winner 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 parti ...

and three-year starter as a prepster. He started varsity

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 ...

early and became a first-team all-region choice at offensive tackle as a sophomore. He started at

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

and

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 ...

as a senior,

as a junior and

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 ...

as a sophomore. Sendlein also helped lead team to back-to-back Arizona 4A State Championships in 1999–2000 and a 28-game winning streak. He became a first-team all-state, all-region and all-city selection as a senior he posted 110

tackles 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 u ...

, six sacks, three

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

recoveries (one returned for a TD) and a 29-yard

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

return for a TD that year, he also had 21 tackles, two sacks and a 29-yard INT return for a TD against rival

Saguaro The saguaro (, ) (''Carnegiea gigantea'') is a tree-like cactus species in the monotypic genus ''Carnegiea'' that can grow to be over tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountains a ...

in 2001. He earned second-team all-state and first-team all-region and all-city honors as a junior. Sendlein was also named the Valley's 2000 Defensive Player of the Year. He racked up 157 tackles that year, his top game of his junior season was a 19-tackle performance against the Saguaro Sabrecats.

College career

Sendlein played in 50 games while at Texas and he started in his final 26 games. He was a two-time all-conference performer as center in the

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

. He started for the 2005 National Championship team and helped the Longhorns set an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

single-season record with 652 total points scored and a UT single-season record with 6,657 total offensive yards. He earned a degree in

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

in December 2006.

Professional career

Sendlein went

undrafted 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 the 2007 NFL Draft, but signed with the

as an

. On his signing with the Cardinals, Sendlein said, "I had about 20 to 25 teams call to check on my status, but my agent and I felt like Arizona would be a good fit." said Sendlein. It has been a homecoming for Sendlein since he played for Scottsdale Chaparral. Sendlein started only 2 games as a rookie in 2007. He became the starting

for Arizona in his second year, and had maintained that position without missing a game for 3 years (2008–2010). On March 12, 2015, Sendlein was released, but he re-signed with the team on August 7, 2015.

Personal

Sendlein, who is of

German descent , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

, is the son of former NFL player

Robin Sendlein Robin Sendlein is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League. Sendlein was drafted in the second round by the Minnesota Vikings out of the University of Texas at Austin in the 1981 NFL Draft. His son, Lyle Sendlein, als ...

and Carrie Sendlein.

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sendlein, Lyle 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Minnesota American football centers Texas Longhorns football players Arizona Cardinals players