Ryan D'Imperio (born August 15, 1987) 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 ...

fullback. He was drafted by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

with the 237th overall pick in the seventh round of the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

. 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 ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

. He finished his career playing 12 NFL Games with 2 receptions and 7 total yards gained.

College career

After receiving a high school degree while attending at Washington Township High School in

Sewell, New Jersey Sewell ( ) is a census-designated place and unincorporated community within Mantua Township in Gloucester County, New Jersey. It is named for United States Senator William Joyce Sewell. Sewell is served as U.S. Postal Service ZIP Code 08080 ...

, D’Imperio came to Rutgers and made an instant impact at linebacker. The true freshman appeared in all 13 games as the Scarlet Knights enjoyed an 11–2 season in 2006 and won their first bowl championship. Throughout his college career, D'Imperio recorded 177 total tackles, 6

quarterback sacks In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the ...

, and 2

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

, including one returned for a

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 ...

. After his junior year, D'Imperio was voted to the Second Team All-Big East.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

D'Imperio was drafted as a

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, p ...

237th overall in the

by the

. D'Imperio chose to wear the number 44, the same number he wore in both high school and college. Rather than play linebacker, Viking's coach

Brad Childress Bradley Childress (born June 27, 1956) is a former American football coach. He worked for over 40 years as a coach for various college programs and National Football League (NFL) franchises. He was the offensive coordinator for Wisconsin from 19 ...

, thought D'Imperio would be better suited playing Fullback on the offensive side of the ball. D'Imperio spent the 2010 season on the Vikings Practice Squad. On September 3, 2011, Ryan D'Imperio was waived by the Vikings during final cuts before the start of the 2011 NFL season and added 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 October 4, 2011, D'Imperio was promoted to the active roster. On August 31, 2012, D'Imperio was released during final roster cutdowns due to an injured shoulder.

Kansas City Chiefs

D'Imperio signed with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

on March 21, 2013. D'Imperio was released from the

on May 13, 2013

New York Giants

On July 26, 2013, D'Imperio signed with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. On August 13, 2013, the Giants announced that he had retired.

References

External links

Minnesota Vikings bio

CBS Sports bioCollege StatsThe Comeback Kid
{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Imperio, Ryan 1987 births Living people American football fullbacks American football linebackers Kansas City Chiefs players Minnesota Vikings players New York Giants players People from Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players Sportspeople from Gloucester County, New Jersey Washington Township High School (New Jersey) alumni