Markus Kuhn (born 5 May 1986) is a former

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

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 ...

. He was selected by 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. ...

in the seventh round of the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. In December 2014 he recovered a fumble against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

and scored, becoming the first German to earn an NFL touchdown. Kuhn played college football at

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

Early years

Born in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Kuhn started playing football at age 14. He was introduced to the sport while spending vacations with his family in Florida. His interest and curiosity led him to start playing football in Germany and he eventually began playing linebacker and defensive tackle for the

Weinheim Longhorns The Weinheim Longhorns are an American football team from Weinheim, Germany. The club's greatest success was promotion to the German Football League in 2006, where it spent four seasons. In this time the club reached the play-offs on three occas ...

, winning Rookie of The Year. Kuhn was a four-time

German Football League The German Football League (GFL) is an American football league in Germany and was formed in 1979. Playing rules are based on those of the American National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA. In 1999, the league switched its name from ''Ameri ...

All-Star.

College career

In 2007 Kuhn decided to play collegiate football. Without access to college recruiters, Kuhn resorted to personally visiting colleges with his father in 2007. He was ultimately given a scholarship at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

. At NC State, Kuhn was part of the

Champs Sports Bowl The Pop-Tarts Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at Camping World Stadium. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Citrus Bowl and the Florida Classi ...

winning team in 2010 and the

Belk Bowl The Duke’s Mayo Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2002. The game currently features a matchup between a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference (AC ...

winning team in 2011. In 2012 Kuhn earned a degree in

Business economics Business economics is a field in applied economics which uses economic theory and quantitative methods to analyze business enterprises and the factors contributing to the diversity of organizational structures and the relationships of firms with ...

Professional career

New York Giants

2012 season

Kuhn was drafted in the 7th round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the

. On August 31, 2012, it was announced that Kuhn had made the final roster. He made his debut in the season's inaugural game with a tackle assist, a feat he matched in the subsequent games. He started his first game in Week 6 against

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

. During the game against the

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 ...

in week 10, Kuhn suffered a torn ACL and missed the rest of the 2012 season. The Giants finished the season 9-7 and out of the playoffs.

2013 season

Almost one year after his ACL tear, Kuhn returned to practicing with his team. Because of his strong work ethic, the coaches named Kuhn on November 6 to the Giants active roster. Kuhn had his season debut in Week 13 against 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 ...

, a game the Giants won. In week 14, defensive tackle Kuhn returned a kickoff 13 yards, after the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

deliberately bounced a short kick, after a score with 19 seconds remaining in the first half. Kuhn and the Giants ended the season 7-9, failing to make the playoffs.

2014 season

During the offseason, it was published that Kuhn has a good friendship with former Giant and 2014 Hall of Famer

Michael Strahan Michael T. Strahan ( ; born November 21, 1971) is an American television personality, journalist, and former professional football player. He played his entire 15-year professional career as a defensive end for the New York Giants of the Nation ...

. Kuhn was born in Mannheim and Strahan experienced the game of football in this city for the first time at the Mannheim Redskins (now the Rhein Neckar Bandits). In Week one, the Giants lost against 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 ...

. Kuhn missed the game because of an injury. In week 14, on December 7th, 2014, Kuhn returned a fumble 26 yards for a touchdown against the Titans. It was the Giants first non-offensive TD of the season. It was also the first ever touchdown scored by a German national in the NFL.

2015 season

Ahead of the 2015 season it was announced that the 2015 NFL season would see a new broadcasting arrangement in Germany with (at least) two games every Sunday being broadcast live in free-to-air Television on

ProSieben Maxx ProSieben Maxx is a German free-to-air channel owned by ProSiebenSat.1. The channel started broadcasting on 3 September 2013 with the movie '' Captain America: The First Avenger'' at 8:15 p.m. On 30 July 2013 ProSieben Maxx received a DVB-T b ...

as well as on a free live stream on ran.de. Kuhn became a columnist for the website of ran.de, describing his day-to-day life in the NFL and how he sees his games. On the field the 2015 season saw him secure the ball one more time for his team, when he returned a fumble by Tom Brady against the New England Patriots, a game that the Giants ultimately lost on a late field goal. On December 25, 2015, Kuhn was placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury he suffered against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

on December 14, 2015.

New England Patriots

On April 7, 2016, Kuhn signed with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Patriots as part of final roster cuts.

Retirement

On January 27, 2017, Kuhn announced his retirement, never having played in a regular season game since being injured on December 14, 2015.

References

External links

New York Giants bio

ESPN Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuhn, Markus 1986 births Living people American football defensive tackles German Football League players German players of American football NC State Wolfpack football players New England Patriots players New York Giants players People from Weinheim Sportspeople from Karlsruhe (region)