Will Rabatin (born August 26, 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 ...

offensive lineman 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 ...

who played two seasons with the

Columbus Destroyers The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Columbus, Ohio, with home games in Nationwide Arena. The team was founded in as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in . They fold ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL). He first enrolled at

Georgetown College Georgetown College is a private Christian college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains. The college offers 38 undergraduate degrees and a Master of Arts in educat ...

before transferring to the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

. He attended St. Xavier High School in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. Rabatin was also a member of the

Louisville Fire The Louisville Fire was an arena football team that played its home games at the Brown-Forman Field in Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. They were a 2001 expansion team of the af2. Their owner/operator was former Pro Bowl lineman and Louisvi ...

of the

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

Early years

Rabatin played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the St. Xavier High School Tigers. He was a three-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 ...

in football and wrestling. He was a member of the state championship football teams in 1997 and 1999. Rabatin was also an honorable mention all-state selection by the Courier-Journal as a junior after helping St. Xavier to a 14–1 record and the state title. He compiled a 36–4 record and went undefeated in Kentucky during his senior year when he was the state wrestling champion at 275 pounds. He was inducted into the St. Xavier High School Alumni Hall of Honors.

College career

Georgetown College

Rabatin first 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 ...

in 2000 for the

Georgetown Tigers The Georgetown Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Georgetown College located in Georgetown, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Mid- ...

. He recorded one tackle team while the Tigers posted a 14–0 record and won the 2000 NAIA National Championship.

University of Louisville

Rabatin transferred to play for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

from 2001 to 2004. He earned Second Team All-

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

honors in 2004.

Professional career

Louisville Fire

Rabatin played for the Louisville Fire of the af2 in 2006, starting 11 of 12 games and earning All-af2 Second Team honors. He was named the af2's top offensive lineman of all time in 2009. His strong blocking ability at the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

position was a key reason behind QB

Brett Dietz Brett Dietz (born October 8, 1981) is American football coach and former quarterback. He is the head football coach at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, a position he has held since 2020. Dietz played college football at Hanover College ...

's stellar rookie season in which he won the league's Rookie of the Year Award.

Columbus Destroyers

Rabatin played for the Columbus Destroyers from 2007 to 2008, earning First Team All-Arena honors in 2008 and All-Rookie Team recognition in 2007.

Coaching career

St. Xavier High School

Rabatin was an assistant coach for the St. Xavier High School Tigers in 2007.

Personal life

Rabatin is married to Tara Tobin-Rabatin and has five children.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabatin, Will Living people 1982 births American football offensive linemen Columbus Destroyers players Georgetown Tigers football players Louisville Cardinals football players Louisville Fire players High school football coaches in Kentucky St. Xavier High School (Louisville) alumni Players of American football from Louisville, Kentucky