Mitchell Van Dyk (born June 18, 1991) 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 ...

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 ...

and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

. 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 ...

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

for the

Portland State Vikings Portland State Vikings is the nickname of the NCAA-affiliated, intercollegiate athletic teams representing Portland State University of Portland, Oregon. The Vikings compete at the NCAA Division I level in basketball, soccer, volleyball, golf, ...

and was drafted by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

in the seventh round (with the 226th overall pick) of the

2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

Early years

As a senior for

Paso Robles High School Paso Robles High School (PRHS) is the only comprehensive high school located in the city of Paso Robles, California. The school receives its students from George H. Flamson Middle School and Daniel E. Lewis Middle School, both located in Paso Roble ...

, Van Dyk was converted from

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 ...

to offensive tackle.

College career

Mitchell Van Dyk attended

. Van Dyk played in a total of 36 games and started 33 of them. Van Dyk earned the starting spot at right tackle in 2011, and went on to twice win the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

' Offensive Lineman of the Year accolade. Following the 2013 season, he was selected as a third-team AP All-American honoree and was invited to the

College All-Star Bowl The College All-Star Bowl was an annual post-season college football all-star game held in Greenville, South Carolina, in 2013 and 2014. The first game (known as the South Carolina College All-Star Bowl) was played at North Greenville University ...

hosted by Furman.

Professional career

St. Louis Rams

Van Dyk was drafted by the then-

in the seventh round of the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He was released by the Rams on August 30, 2014 after the preseason.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Van Dyk signed a reserve/future contract with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

on January 15, 2015. Van Dyk spent the entire 2015 season on the

' injured reserve list after being waived-injured by the team on September 5, 2015.

Indianapolis Colts

On April 20, 2016, Van Dyk signed with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. He was waived on May 2. On June 6, 2016, Van Dyk was re-signed to the Colts roster. On September 3, 2016, he was waived by the Colts as part of final roster cuts heading into the regular season.

San Francisco 49ers

On December 13, 2016, Van Dyk was signed to the 49ers' practice squad. He participated in

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 ...

in 2017.

References

External links

Profile at GoViks.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Dyk, Mitchell 1991 births Living people Players of American football from San Luis Obispo County, California American football offensive tackles Portland State Vikings football players St. Louis Rams players Pittsburgh Steelers players Indianapolis Colts players San Francisco 49ers players People from Paso Robles, California The Spring League players