Nolan Laufenberg (born March 25, 1999) 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 ...

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 ...

who is 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 ...

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

and signed with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

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 ...

in 2021. Laufenberg has also been a member of the Washington Commanders.

Early life and education

Nolan Laufenberg was born on March 25, 1999, in Castle Rock, Colorado. He attended

Castle View High School Castle View High School is a public high school in Castle Rock, Colorado. It is part of the Douglas County School District Douglas County School District is a public school district in Douglas County, Georgia, U.S., based in Douglasville. It ...

there, earning three

varsity letters A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

in football and two in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. He was all-conference on offense in football in three of his four years, being twice on the first-team. Following his senior year of 2016, Laufenberg went to the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

, to play for their Falcon football team. As a true

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

in 2016, Laufenberg did not see any varsity action. As a sophomore in 2018, Laufenberg appeared in twelve games, and started nine. He played all thirteen games the following year, starting all but one. He was named first-team all- Mountain West Conference and first-team all-Colorado following the season. The 2020 season was shortened due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, only allowing him to play six games.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

After going unselected in the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

, Laufenberg was signed by the

as an

. In order to play with Denver, he had to get the

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...

's approval to delay his military service five years. He was waived on August 24, 2021.

Washington Football Team / Commanders

On September 28, 2021, Laufenberg 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, ...

of the Washington Football Team. He signed a reserve/future contract after the 2021 regular season ended. On August 30, 2022, Laufenberg was waived by the Commanders and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was placed on the practice squad

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 21. On January 4, 2023, he was activated off the injured list. Five days later, he signed another reserve/future contract. On August 29, 2023, Laufenberg was waived by the Commanders and re-signed to the practice squad. He was released on September 6, 2023. He was re-signed to the Commanders practice squad on November 2. He became a free agent when his practice squad contract expired after the season.

References

External links

Air Force Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laufenberg, Nolan Players of American football from Colorado American football offensive guards 1999 births Living people Air Force Falcons football players Denver Broncos players Washington Football Team players Washington Commanders players