Sean Thomas McHugh (born May 27, 1982) 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 ...

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 ...

. He last played 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 ...

in 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), winning

Super Bowl XLIII Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

Early years

McHugh played running back and linebacker from 1996-1999 at

Chagrin Falls High School Chagrin Falls High School is a public high school located in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, United States, an eastern suburb in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan area. The high school's mascot is Mortimer the Tiger. History Chagrin Falls High School issued ...

Chagrin Falls, Ohio Chagrin Falls is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States and is a suburb of Cleveland in Northeast Ohio's Cleveland-Akron-Canton metropolitan area, the 19th-largest Combined Statistical Area nationwide. The village was established and h ...

, where he was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

. Upon his graduation in 2000, McHugh had set single season (2,260 yards) and career (5,855 yards) rushing records that still stand at Chagrin Falls. He also lettered in

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

his freshman and sophomore years.

College career

McHugh was a four-year letterman at

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 ...

from 20002003, starting at fullback his junior and senior seasons. During his career, McHugh ran 82 times for 322 yards and 6 touchdowns. He also made 44 catches for 297 yards and one touchdown.

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

McHugh was drafted by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, in the seventh round (241st overall). He was cut at the end of

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

Green Bay Packers

McHugh would then sign with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

as a

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 ...

. He made his NFL debut in the Packers' September 13, 2004 game at Carolina.

Detroit Lions

The next season, McHugh signed a free agent contract with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. He saw action in 3 games that season. The Lions allocated him to the Frankfurt Galaxy for NFL Europa's 2006 season. He would play in Frankfurt's

World Bowl XIV World Bowl XIV, officially known as Yello Strom World Bowl XIV, was the 2006 championship game of the NFL Europe League. It was held at the LTU arena in Düsseldorf, Germany on Saturday, May 27, 2006. The game was between the defending World Bowl ...

victory over the

Amsterdam Admirals The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, playing in the NFL Europe. History The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, to ...

. McHugh returned to Detroit for the

2006 NFL season The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League. Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006. The season began with the reigning Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh defeating the Miami in t ...

. He was momentarily elevated to the #1 tight end slot due to a wrist injury to

Casey FitzSimmons Casey FitzSimmons (born October 10, 1980) is a former National Football League tight end. He played his whole career for the Detroit Lions. High school years FitzSimmons attended Chester High School in Chester, Montana and was an All-Conferenc ...

in the preseason, but found himself on the team's practice squad at the start of the season. A week 7 injury to fullback

Cory Schlesinger Cory Michael Schlesinger (born June 23, 1972) is a former American football fullback of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 1995 NFL Draft. He played college football at Nebraska. Early y ...

moved McHugh back onto the active roster as a fullback on October 22, 2006. McHugh saw action at fullback on that week versus the

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

. His first career reception came against 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 ...

on November 5, 2006 for seven yards. He would appear in 6 games in 2006, starting 3, and finishing with 3 receptions for 25 yards. McHugh saw increased playing time in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, mostly back at tight end. He played in 15 games and finished the season with 252 yards on 17 receptions. He was released by the Lions on August 31, 2008 at the end of training camp.

Pittsburgh Steelers

McHugh signed with the

on September 3, 2008. He would dress for the Steelers' week 2 game versus

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. An ankle injury to

Carey Davis Carey Alexander Davis (born March 27, 1981) is a former American football fullback. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at Illinois. Davis has also been a member of the Atla ...

prompted McHugh's move to fullback, where he would be the starter for the Steelers' week 7 game versus

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. He would be used primarily as a fullback for the remainder of the season and throughout the playoffs, making 3 receptions, totaling 24 yards. In his first season at Pittsburgh, McHugh won the AFC Championship and ultimately

, earning McHugh his first

Super Bowl ring The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itsel ...

.My Super Bowl Journey: Sean Mchugh
During the two-week period leading up to the Super Bowl, McHugh gained notoriety for having been cut by the Lions, deemed not good enough to play on a team that ultimately went 0-16 for the season, but good enough to play on a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

team such as Pittsburgh and make major contributions as a blocker for

Willie Parker William Everett Parker Jr. (born November 11, 1980) is an American former football running back who played for six seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for North Carolina, he ...

and

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college footba ...

Personal life

McHugh and his wife Ashlee reside in the suburbs of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. with their son Jack and daughter Emma. McHugh is now an assistant football coach at

South Lyon East High School South Lyon East High School is a public high school in Lyon Township, Michigan in Metro Detroit, near South Lyon. It is a part of South Lyon Community Schools and the Oakland Schools intermediate school district An intermediate school dist ...

in South Lyon, where he is the offensive line and defensive line coach and also serves as special teams coordinator. Sean is also an assistant Vice President of Sales at United Wholesale Mortgage.

References

External links

Pittsburgh Steelers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McHugh, Sean 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Springfield, Massachusetts American football tight ends American football fullbacks People from Chagrin Falls, Ohio Players of American football from Massachusetts Penn State Nittany Lions football players Tennessee Titans players Green Bay Packers players Detroit Lions players Frankfurt Galaxy players Pittsburgh Steelers players