No. 50 – Seattle Seahawks | |||
---|---|---|---|
Position: | Linebacker | ||
Personal information | |||
Born: | Kalispell, Montana, U.S. | December 31, 1998||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
Weight: | 227 lb (103 kg) | ||
Career information | |||
High school: | Glacier (MT) | ||
College: | Mary (2017) Montana (2018–2022) | ||
Undrafted: | 2023 | ||
Career history | |||
| |||
Roster status: | Active | ||
Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||
| |||
Player stats at PFR |
Patrick O'Connell (born December 31, 1998) is an American football linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Montana Grizzlies and was signed by the team as an undrafted free agent in 2023.
O'Connell was born on December 31, 1998, in Kalispell, Montana. [1] He grew up focusing on playing baseball. [2] He attended Glacier High School, and played football, basketball and baseball: he was baseball team captain for three years, and also captained the football and basketball teams in his senior year. [3] He helped his teams reach five state championships in his tenure at Glacier, including winning the state football title in 2014 and the basketball title in 2017. [3]
O'Connell was a first-team all-conference selection in baseball in his last two years, and also was a one-time first-team all-state selection in the sport, additionally receiving second-team all-conference football honors as a junior and first-team as a senior, as well as being first-team all-state in football on both offense and defense in his senior year. [3] A linebacker and fullback, O'Connell was named the state football defensive most valuable player in 2016 while having 135 tackles, 18 tackles for loss (TFLs), four sacks and two interceptions. [3] He played in the Montana East West Shrine All-Star Game and in the Montana–North Dakota All-Star Game. [4] He committed to play college football and college baseball for the Mary Marauders. [4]
O'Connell appeared in 10 games for the Marauders football team in 2017, recording 33 tackles and 3.5 tackles-for-loss while also having a defensive touchdown. [3] He left Mary, and gave up his athletic scholarship and baseball career in 2018 to join the Montana Grizzlies football team as a walk-on. [2] [5] He redshirted his first season at Montana and was named the defensive scout team player of the year. [6] He moved his way up the depth chart, and midway through the 2019 season, became a starter for Montana at linebacker. [2] O'Connell had eight starts in 14 games for the 2019 Montana Grizzlies, and had 56 tackles, a team-leading 6.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles-for-loss. [6]
O'Connell appeared in two games during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. [7] As a junior in 2021, he broke out, and became a top NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) player, recording 105 tackles, 22 tackles-for-loss and 14 sacks while being named first-team All-Big Sky Conference and first-team All-American, additionally finishing third in voting for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the best defensive player in the FCS. [6] He returned for a final season in 2022 after being given extra eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [2] That year, he missed three games from injury, but managed to still be a first-team All-Big Sky player with a conference-leading eight sacks and 14 tackles-for-loss, along with 73 tackles. [3] [7] [8] O'Connell ended his stint at Montana being fourth all-time in school history for tackles for loss, and placed sixth in sacks; he was invited to the Hula Bowl to conclude his collegiate career. [7]
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 1+1⁄8 in (1.86 m) | 227 lb (103 kg) | 31+7⁄8 in (0.81 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 4.70 s | 1.63 s | 2.75 s | 4.28 s | 6.97 s | 38.5 in (0.98 m) | 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m) | ||
All values from Pro Day [9] |
After going unselected in the 2023 NFL draft, O'Connell was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent. [10] He was second on the team in preseason for tackles with 17, but was released at the final roster cuts, subsequently being re-signed to the practice squad. [11] [12] He was elevated to the active roster for the team's Week 14 game against the San Francisco 49ers but was inactive for the game. [13] [14] He was signed to the team's active roster on December 30, 2023. [15] He made his NFL debut the following day, on his 25th birthday, recording a tackle. [16] It was the only game he played in the season. [1]
Franklin Nonyelu Okam, Jr. is an American football coach and former defensive tackle who is the former defensive line coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Okam played college football at Texas and was selected by the Houston Texans in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He also was a member of the Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Omaha Nighthawks, New York Giants, and Carolina Panthers.
The Montana State Bobcats football program competes in the Big Sky Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision for Montana State University. The program began in 1897 and has won three national championships. It is the only college football program in the nation to win national championships on three different levels of competition, NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division I-AA. Through the 2022 season, the Bobcats had played in 1,049 games with an all-time record of 525–492–32.
Colt Anderson is a former American football safety and coach who is the special teams coach for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Montana and was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He was also a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills.
Malcolm Xavier Smith is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans. He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Smith was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLVIII after the Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos.
Bruce Pernell Irvin Jr. is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round with the 15th overall pick of the 2012 NFL draft. Irvin won Super Bowl XLVIII over the Denver Broncos, and also played in Super Bowl XLIX where he became the first player ever to be ejected from a Super Bowl. He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Bobby Joseph Wagner is an American football linebacker for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Utah State and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft. Wagner also played for the Los Angeles Rams in 2022.
Jordan Lee Tripp is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played college football at Montana.
Brock Coyle is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Montana and signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2014.
Alex Reed Singleton is an American football linebacker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Montana State and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks after the 2015 NFL draft. He has also been a member of the New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings, Calgary Stampeders, and Philadelphia Eagles.
Zack Wagenmann is a former American football outside linebacker. He played college football for the University of Montana, and signed as an undrafted free agent by the Arizona Cardinals following the 2015 NFL Draft.
Shaquem Alphonso Griffin is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons.
Abdullah Malik Anderson Jr. is an American football defensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at Bucknell. Anderson signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and spent three seasons with them before playing with several other NFL teams.
Jordyn W. Brooks is an American football linebacker for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas Tech and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Darrell Lamond Taylor is an American football linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee.
Tanner Muse is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Clemson and was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Dante Olson is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Montana.
Cameron Gill is an American football linebacker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wagner.
Jabril Cox is an American football linebacker. He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He played college football at North Dakota State, where he won three FCS championships and was named the MVFC defensive player of the year before playing the 2020 season with LSU. Cox has also been a member of the Washington Commanders.
Sam Kamara is an American football defensive end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). Kamara played college football at Stony Brook.
Tyler Okada is an American football safety for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Montana State.