Mike Rosenthal (born June 10, 1977) 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 ...

. 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 Notre Dame, where he was an All-American. He was drafted 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 fifth round of the

1999 NFL Draft The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...

, and played nine seasons in the NFL.

Early years

Rosenthal was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, and is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

.''Jewish Sports Stars: Athletic Heroes Past and Present'' - David J. Goldman
/ref> In high school at

Penn High School Penn High School is a Public education, public high school located just outside Mishawaka, Indiana, United States, near South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. It is the only high school in the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation, Penn-Harris-Madis ...

, he was named ''USA Today''

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

as a senior in

Mishawaka, Indiana Mishawaka is a city on the St. Joseph River, in Penn Township, St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 51,063 as of the 2020 census. Its nickname is "the Princess City". Mishawaka is a principal city of the South ...

.ROSENTHAL, MIKE , Indiana Football Hall of Fame
/ref> He also garnered All-America honors from Parade, SuperPrep, and Blue Chip Illustrated, earning top OL honors nationally by SuperPrep and ranking # 2 by Blue Chip. He was tabbed as Indiana's

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develop ...

Circle of Champions Player of the Year as a senior. He lettered three times in football, and twice in basketball.

College career

At Notre Dame he started every game his junior and senior years (*Actually he started all four years), playing G as a junior and T as a senior. As a senior, he was tabbed an

by Walter Camp Foundation and a second-team All-America by ''Football News''. He was also honorable mention All-America by ''Football News'' as a junior, and All-Independent 1st-team choice. He later attended

St. Edward's University St. Edward's University is a private, Catholic university in Austin, Texas. It was founded and is operated in the Holy Cross tradition. History Founding and early history St. Edward's University was founded by the Reverend Edward Sorin, CSC ...

, graduating in 2013.

Awards and honors

* First-team All-Independent (1997) * Honorable mention ''Football News'' All-American (1997) * First-team

Walter Camp Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The organization also presents various awards. It is named in honor of foo ...

All-American (1998) * Second-team ''Football News'' All-American (1998)

Professional career

He was drafted out of Notre Dame in the fifth round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the

, and played nine seasons in the NFL.Rosenthal, Dreisbach headline Hall of Fame class , WSBT
/ref> In 1999, he played in 9 games with 7 starts as rookie with Giants. In 2000, he played in 8 games and started 2 for the Giants, and in 2001 he played in 7 games. In 2002, he started all 16 games and the Wildcard Playoff game at RT for the Giants.
/ref> In March 2003 he became an unrestricted

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 ...

, and signed with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

for $1.8 million. 2003 was his first season with the Vikings, and he started all 16 games at RT for the 2nd consecutive season. He helped pave the way for the Vikings' offense to rank #1 in the NFL for the first time in team history. In 2004, he suffered a broken right foot in the second game of the season. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on September 22. In 2005, he played in all 16 games, making 12 starts at right tackle. He lost his starting job to Marcus Johnson in late November, but came back to start the final two games of the season.

Hall of Fame

Rosenthal was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. He was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

Beyond the game

Rosenthal and his wife, Lindsay, own and operate “1379 Sports” (1379Sports.com), a clothing store in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. In 2010, Mike began teaching and coaching football at Stephen F. Austin High School in Austin, Texas and became head football coach there in December 2011. He became the head athletic director in 2012."Austin High promotes Mike Rosenthal to head football coach"
/ref> Now he is a California man, specifically Manhattan Beach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Mike 1977 births Living people American football offensive tackles New York Giants players Minnesota Vikings players Miami Dolphins players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Jewish American sportspeople People from Mishawaka, Indiana People from Austin, Texas Players of American football from Pittsburgh 21st-century American Jews