Patrick John Freiermuth (born October 25, 1998) 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 ...

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 ...

for 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 ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). 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 ...

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

and was drafted by the Steelers in the second round of 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 ...

High school career

A longtime resident of

Merrimac, Massachusetts Merrimac is a small town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, and on the southeastern border of New Hampshire, approximately northeast of Boston and west of the Atlantic Ocean. It was incorporated on April 11, 1876. It is situated alo ...

, Freiermuth attended

Pentucket Regional High School Pentucket Regional High School (often abbreviated as "PRHS") is a public high school in West Newbury, Massachusetts, United States, which serves the communities of Groveland, Merrimac, and West Newbury. It is the only high school in the Pentu ...

West Newbury, Massachusetts West Newbury is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Situated on the Merrimack River, its population was 4,500 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History Originally i ...

, before transferring to the Brooks School in

North Andover, Massachusetts North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915. History Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...

. At Brooks, he played

and

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

on the football team, wearing jersey number eight. He also played

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 ...

there as a

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

and a

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

. During his career, he had 1,531 total yards and 24 total

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s. He committed to

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

to play college football.

College career

As a freshman for the

Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interc ...

in 2018, Freiermuth made nine starts and recorded 26 receptions for 368 yards and eight

s, breaking the record of most receiving touchdowns by a freshman tight end. He remained the starter for the next two seasons, was voted Penn State Football's Most Valuable Offensive Player in 2019, and was invited to the NFL Draft Combine a year earlier. Although rumor said he would jump at this, he declined this chance, and in a press conference with Coach James Franklin announced that he had planned to recommit to Penn State for yet another year. He played in a total of 30 games there, and started all but four of them. He scored sixteen career touchdowns, tied for eighth place overall at Penn State for career touchdowns and first place by a tight end. In the end, he had a total of 92 career receptions, 1,185 career receiving yards, and he was named the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

's Kwalick–Clark Tight End of the Year in 2020, making him the first ever Penn State tight end to win this award. He was also voted first-team All-Big Ten by the coaches, and finished the season leading the conference for most receiving yards by a tight end.

Professional career

Freiermuth was drafted in the second round (55th overall) of the

by the

to replace tight end

Vance McDonald Vance Coman McDonald (born June 13, 1990) is a former American football tight end who played for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft, and spent ...

, who retired after the 2020 season. He signed a four-year rookie contract with Pittsburgh on May 25, 2021. Freiermuth started his first NFL game in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills and recorded his first career reception for 24 yards. During the season, Freiermuth sustained two concussions. The first happened in Week 12 during a 41–10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The second concussion was sustained in a 19–13 win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 15. He finished the season with 60 receptions for 497 yards and seven touchdowns.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

Pat Freiermuth is not the only one in his family involved in athletics. Freiermuth's uncle, Michael Foley, is the offensive line coach for the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Prior to this, he was head football coach at Colgate University. His father, John Freiermuth, played basketball at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire and in 1988 he was named New Hampshire's "Mr. Basketball." His mom is a history teacher and former coach (fifteen seasons) for North Andover High School field hockey. She retired from coaching in 2007 after leading her team to two North sectional titles and a 147–85–66 record. She was also president of the Penn State Football Parents Association. Tim Freiermuth, Patrick's brother, was an offensive lineman for the Springfield College of Massachusetts

References

External links

Penn State Nittany Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freiermuth, Pat 1998 births Living people People from Merrimac, Massachusetts Players of American football from Essex County, Massachusetts American football tight ends Penn State Nittany Lions football players Pittsburgh Steelers players