Matt Farniok (born September 26, 1997) is an

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

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of the

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(NFL). He was drafted by the

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in the seventh round of the

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. 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 ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

Early years

Farniok attended Washington High School. As a sophomore, he became a starter at the offensive line. As a junior, he received Class 11AAA All-state and Sioux Falls Argus Leader's Elite 45 honors. As a senior in 2015, he contributed to the team winning the state title. He received South Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year, first-team Parade All-American, Class 11AAA All-state and Sioux Falls Argus Leader's Elite 45 honors. Farniok was ranked as a threestar recruit by

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coming out of high school. He committed to

on January 27, 2016.

College career

As a

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freshman, he appeared in 7 games with 4 starts. He had 2 starts at

right tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

and 2 starts at right guard. As a sophomore, he was named the starter at right tackle, contributing to the team averaging 456.2 yards of total offense. As a junior, he started all 12 games at right tackle. As a senior in 2020, the football season was reduced to 8 games due to the

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. He became one of 13 two-time captains in school history, while starting all 8 games on the offensive line. He started 7 contests at right guard and one contest at center.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Farniok was selected by the

in the seventh round (238th overall) of the

. He signed a four-year rookie contract on May 13, 2021. As a rookie, he appeared in 12 games, playing mostly in kick protection 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 ...

. He was declared inactive for the Wild Card playoff game. In 2022, he appeared in 7 games, starting two at left guard in place of an injured Connor McGovern. In addition to being a backup guard and center, he also acted as a blocking fullback in certain goal-line plays. His offensive snaps decreased after Jason Peters was promoted to the active roster in Week 3. He suffered a torn hamstring injury, while blocking for an extra point attempt in the seventh game against the

. On October 26, 2022, Farniok was placed on injured reserve. In the 2023 preseason, he fell on the depth chart behind rookies Asim Richards and

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. He was waived on August 29, 2023.

Chicago Bears

On September 7, 2023, Farniok was signed to the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

practice squad. He was released on November 17.

Detroit Lions

On December 5, 2023, Farniok was signed to the

practice squad.

Personal life

Farniok has three brothers who all played football at the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

level, Derek,

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, and Will.

References

External links

Nebraska Cornhuskers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farniok, Matt 1997 births Living people Players of American football from South Dakota Sportspeople from Sioux Falls, South Dakota Washington High School (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) alumni American football offensive linemen Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Dallas Cowboys players Chicago Bears players Detroit Lions players