Mitch Hyatt (born February 6, 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 ...

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 ...

who is currently a free agent. 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 Clemson.

Early years

A native of

Sugar Hill, Georgia Sugar Hill is a city in northern Gwinnett County, Georgia, Gwinnett County and a suburb of Atlanta in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The population was 18,522 as of the 2010 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Gwinnett ...

, Hyatt attended

North Gwinnett High School North Gwinnett High School is a public high school outside the city limits of Suwanee, Georgia, United States. It is part of the district Gwinnett County Public Schools. The school's principal is Nathan Ballantine. History North Gwinnett High ...

, where he was three-year starter at left tackle for the Bulldogs, and an All-American offensive lineman as a senior. In Hyatt's sophomore year, North Gwinnett faced defending state champion Grayson in the second round of the GHSA Class 6A playoffs, upsetting them 28–10, as Hyatt reportedly played Grayson's blue chip defensive end

Robert Nkemdiche Robert Chukwudumebi Nkemdiche ( ; born September 19, 1994) is an American football defensive tackle for the Michigan Panthers (2022), Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League (2022), United States Football League (USFL). He attende ...

“to a draw.” After an All-State junior season, in which he helped pave the way for North’s run to a GHSA Class 6A state runner-up finish, Hyatt verbally committed to Clemson.

College career

Listed first team on the depth chart entering August camp in 2015, Hyatt was scheduled to become the first freshman since Barry Richardson in 2004 to start on the offensive line for Clemson. He started the season opener against Wofford at left tackle, the first true-freshman to do so for the Tigers since Phil Prince in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

. Hyatt was part of the Clemson team that defeated

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship by a score of 35–31. In 2017, Hyatt was named as the recipient of the

Jacobs Blocking Trophy The Jacobs Blocking Trophy is the name of several similar annual college football awards bestowed by a conference upon their best blocker. The awards are named in honor of William P. Jacobs, founder and president of Presbyterian College from 1935 t ...

for the ACC's most outstanding blocker. Hyatt was the 8th Clemson lineman to receive this award, and the first since 1987. As a senior in 2018, Hyatt became the 13th repeat winner of the

. He also became the Tigers' all time leader in snaps from scrimmage during the 2018 Louisville game. He finished with school records in career starts (57) and snaps played (3,754). He was a three-time first-team All-ACC selection and twice received the

as the

ACC Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

top

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

Professional career

Hyatt was signed as an

undrafted 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 ...

by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

after the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

on April 30. He struggled during preseason as a backup

left 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 was released on August 31. He was signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on September 2. He was promoted to the active roster on December 10, 2019. He was declared inactive for the last 3 games. On August 27, 2020, he suffered a torn right ACL during practice. On September 2, he was waived/injured by the Cowboys. He subsequently reverted to the team's

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 ...

list the next day. In 2021, he suffered a knee sprain during conditioning work in OTAs. On July 27, 2021, Hyatt was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Personal life

His uncle, Dan Benish, was an All-ACC defensive tackle and a starter on Clemson’s 1981 National Championship team.

References

External links

*
Clemson Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyatt, Mitch 1997 births Living people People from Suwanee, Georgia North Gwinnett High School alumni Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football offensive tackles Clemson Tigers football players All-American college football players Dallas Cowboys players