Mike Catapano Jr. (born August 17, 1990) is a former American football linebacker. 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 Princeton where he majored in psychology. He was drafted in the seventh round of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

by the Kansas City Chiefs, with whom he began his career. After two seasons in Kansas City, he spent two seasons with the

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

Early years

Catapano, nicknamed "The Admiral", was born the son of Mike Sr. and Barbara. He has a younger sister April. He is from Bayville, New York. Catapano began playing football at age 8, when his mother became worried he was being bullied. He attended Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York, where he played more

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

than defensive end. He had three shoulder surgeries in high school, which limited his recruiting potential. According to a 2013 NFL.com report by Gil Brandt, he graduated weighing a and received offers from every Ivy League school. However, according to the class of 2008 databases of the major recruiting websites ( ESPN.com, Rivals.com, and Scout.com) who also noted his offers from Army, Temple and Hofstra, he weighed between 234 and 240. According to the final national class of 2008 rankings, Catapano was the 18th ranked fullback by Scout.com and the 46th ranked fullback according to ESPN.

College career

As a freshman, he received a medical redshirt. As a redshirt sophomore, he earned honorable mention All-Ivy League honors. After his junior season in which he earned second-team All-Ivy honors, he attended a summer pass rush training camp conducted by Chuck Smith. Over the course of the year, he had 12

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in th ...

s and 15.5

tackles for a loss 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 ...

and participated in the

2013 East–West Shrine Game The 2013 East–West Shrine Game was the 88th staging of the all-star college football exhibition game featuring NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision players and a few select invitees from Canadian university football. The game featured over ...

. His

senior thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

was on visual cognition and memory. He was the 2012 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year. At Princeton, he developed his own catchphrase to live by: "Attack the now". He was an FCS second-team All-American according to the Associated Press and third-team All-American according to Beyond Sports Network.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Princeton held its Pro Day workouts on March 20, 2013 and Catapano had private workouts on March 26 with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings. Following his East-West Shrine Game appearance, his private workouts and his pro day workouts, there was speculation that he might be the highest drafted Ivy League athlete. He ended up as the third and final Ivy Leaguer of the 2013 draft, following

J. C. Tretter Joseph Carl "JC" Tretter Jr. (born February 12, 1991) is a former American football Center (gridiron football), center. He played college football at Cornell Big Red football, Cornell, and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round ...

and

Kyle Juszczyk Kyle Patrick Juszczyk ( ; born April 23, 1991) is an American football fullback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Harvard, and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth rou ...

Kansas City Chiefs

2013 season

He was selected by the Chiefs with the first pick of the seventh round and 207th overall selection of the

. He is the first Princeton athlete selected in the NFL Draft since

Dennis Norman Dennis M. Norman (born January 26, 1980) is a former American football guard. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Princeton. Norman has also played for the Jacksonvil ...

in the

2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...

. Upon being drafted, Catapano was expected to transition to the linebacker position. During the 2013 preseason, he moved back to defensive end. In Week 4, Catapano recorded a tackle against 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. ...

, his first in the NFL. In a Week 6 game against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

, he recorded his first career sack.

2014 season

Following the 2014 preseason, Catapano was placed on the Reserve/Non-football injury list. It was later reported that Catapano was fighting a mysterious illness that is still being researched. On September 26, 2014, Catapano was placed on season-ending injured reserve. On September 5, 2015, Catapano was released by the Chiefs.

New York Jets

2015 season

Following his release, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid felt Catapano was better suited to a team that ran a

4–3 defense In American football, a 4–3 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of four down linemen and three linebackers. It is called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs). However, ...

rather than the Chief's

3–4 defense In American football, the 3–4 defense is a common defensive alignment consisting of three down linemen and four linebackers. It is a called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs). ...

. On September 8, he was signed to the practice squad by the New York Jets. On November 21, 2015, he was promoted to the active roster when Sheldon Richardson was injured.

2016 season

Catapano appeared in 11 games in 2016 with four starts before being placed on injured reserve on December 20, 2016.

Houston Texans

On August 23, 2017, Catapano signed with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

. He was released on September 2, 2017.

Notes

External links

Official bio
@ Princeton
NFL stats
@ ESPN {{DEFAULTSORT:Catapano, Mike 1990 births Living people American football defensive ends Houston Texans players Kansas City Chiefs players New York Jets players People from Bayville, New York Princeton Tigers football players Players of American football from Nassau County, New York Chaminade High School alumni