Peter Konz (born June 9, 1989) 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 ...

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 was drafted by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

in the second round of the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. 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 ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Early years

Konz attended

Neenah High School Neenah High School is a public high school located in Neenah, Wisconsin. It is the only traditional high school of the Neenah Joint School District. As of fall 2008, approximately 2250 students were enrolled in grades 9 through 12, making it one ...

Neenah, Wisconsin Neenah () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, in the north central United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River, approximately forty miles (60 km) southwest of Green ...

. He played on both the offensive line and

defensive line 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 ...

for the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team. Regarded as a four-star recruit by ''

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'', Konz was ranked as the No. 30 offensive line prospect in the nation.

College career

After being redshirted in 2008, Konz started nine of ten games in 2009.

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named him a freshman

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 ...

n. As a sophomore in 2010, he started 11 of 13 games and was an honorable mention All-

Big Ten 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 ...

. On December 5, 2011, Konz was named All-American by AFCA. Konz is joined as an AFCA All-American by teammates

Montee Ball Montee Ball Jr. (born December 5, 1990) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin, where he was twice recognized as the be ...

and

Kevin Zeitler Kevin Zeitler ( ; born March 8, 1990) is an American football guard for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin, and earned consensus All-American honors. He was selected by the Cincin ...

. Konz was also named to the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

All-American Team joined again by teammate Montee Ball. On December 8, 2011, Konz was named Second Team All-American by

Yahoo Sports Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. Bef ...

. Konz's teammate Kevin Zeitler joined him on the Second Team while Montee Ball was named to the First Team and quarterback

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...

and linebacker

Chris Borland Christopher Borland (born December 26, 1990) is a former American football linebacker who played for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin, and was drafted by the 49ers in the thi ...

were named to the Third Team.

Professional career

Konz took part in the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

Lucas Oil Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the National Football League (NFL)'s Indianapolis Colts and opened on August 16, 2008. The stadium was ...

in Indianapolis. He was regarded as the top center available in the

. ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' described Konz as a "tough, nasty center with an all-around game," who "comes with a lot of upside." Konz was selected by the

in the second round (55th pick overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. In the first six games of the season, he served as backup to

Garrett Reynolds Garrett Reynolds (born July 1, 1987) is a former American football offensive guard. He played college football at North Carolina and is the nephew of former Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Jack “Hacksaw” Reynolds. Pro ...

, before replacing him by week 7. Then later at the start of 2013 season, he moved to center replacing

Todd McClure Ryan Todd McClure (born February 16, 1977) is a former American football Center (American football), center who spent his entire 13-year career playing with the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Falcons in the ...

after his retirement. On September 1, 2015, he was released by the Falcons.

Post-football career

Konz initially attended Marquette University Law school. After one year at Marquette, Konz transferred to, and later graduated from, The University of Wisconsin Law School. He now is a lawyer.

References

External links

*
Atlanta Falcons bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konz, Peter 1989 births Living people American football centers American football offensive guards Wisconsin Badgers football players Atlanta Falcons players Sportspeople from Neenah, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin Sportspeople from Oshkosh, Wisconsin