Rocky Lombardi (born July 30, 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 ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

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 ...

for the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

and the

Northern Illinois Huskies The Northern Illinois Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Northern Illinois University (NIU). The Huskies are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The athleti ...

Early life and high school

Lombardi grew up in

Clive, Iowa Clive is a city in Dallas and Polk counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 18,601. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. Clive is known for its Greenbelt Park and ...

and attended Valley High School. He was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play college football at Michigan State over offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Illinois, Virginia and Western Michigan.

College career

Michigan State

Lombardi was redshirted during his true freshman year in 2017 and was named the Scout Team Offensive Player of the Week after his performance against

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. During the 2018 season, he played in eight games (seven playing as a quarterback and one as a punter) and started three of them at quarterback. He finished the season with completing 68 out of 154 passing attempts for 738 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. During the 2019 season, he played in eight games while in limited action and finished the season with playing 51 snaps, completing 7 out of 21 passing attempts for 74 yards and two interceptions. During the 2020 season, he played in and started six games finishing the season with completing 84 out of 157 passing attempts for a career-high 1,090 yards, eight touchdowns and nine interceptions. He was named to the Manning Award Stars of the Week, the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award's Great 8 List and the Manning Award National Quarterback of the Week after his performance against

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. On December 18, 2020, Lombardi announced that he would be entering the transfer portal. On December 27, 2020, he announced that he would be transferring to

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by th ...

Northern Illinois

During the 2021 season, Lombardi played in and started 13 games and finished the season with completing 200 out of 343 passing attempts for 2,597 yards with 15 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. He was named the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks with the first being after his performance during the Week 4 game against

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

where he ran for a season-high 119 yards on 10 carries with three rushing scores. He was named the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in the season after his performance during the Week 8 game against

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan corre ...

where he completed 17 out of 27 passing attempts for 348 yards with three touchdowns earning a win for the Huskies. During the 2022 season, he played in four games because of an injury he suffered through after the Week 3 game against Vanderbilt. He finished the season with completing 50 out of 75 passing attempts for 645 yards and five touchdowns. Prior to the season, he was named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watchlist. Lombardi returned for the 2023 season after receiving a medical redshirt. Prior to the season, he was named to the Reese's Senior Bowl Watchlist.

Professional career

Lombardi signed as an undrafted free agent with the

on April 27, 2024. He was also selected by the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played i ...

in the fifth round of the 2024 UFL draft on July 17.

Personal life

Lombardi is the son of football coach Tony Lombardi and is the grandson of the late

Bob Lombardi Robert Edward Lombardi (June 3, 1938 – May 28, 2021) was an American football coach and educator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Chicago for three seasons, from 1976 to 1978, compiling a record of 9–15. He is the gra ...

. His younger brother Beau plays college football for the

Army Black Knights The Army Black Knights are the athletic teams that represent the United States Military Academy, located in West Point, New York. In sports contexts, since 2015, the teams are commonly referred to as Army. The Black Knights compete at the Nation ...

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bioMichigan State Spartans bioNorthern Illinois Huskies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lombardi, Rocky 1998 births Living people Players of American football from Iowa American football quarterbacks Michigan State Spartans football players Northern Illinois Huskies football players Cincinnati Bengals players