Bernhard Raimann (born September 23, 1997) is an Austrian professional American football offensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Central Michigan Chippewas.
 Raimann with the Vienna Vikings in 2016 | |||||||
| No. 79 – Indianapolis Colts | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Offensive tackle | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | September 23, 1997 Steinbrunn, Austria | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 303 lb (137 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Ballsportgymnasium Wien (Vienna, Austria) | ||||||
| College: | Central Michigan (2018–2021) | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2022 / round: 3 / pick: 77 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2024 | |||||||
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Early life
editRaimann grew up in Steinbrunn, Austria.[1] He began playing American football at the age of 14 for the Vienna Vikings' youth team.[2] Raimann attended Ballsportgymnasium in Vienna, a publicly funded upper secondary school for elite competitive athletes,[3] and attended Delton-Kellogg High School in Delton, Michigan as an exchange student for his junior year.[4]
While on exchange, Raimann lived with a host family that included a former Central Michigan University football player, Rollie Ferris, and his future college teammate, Tyden Ferris.[5] He returned to Austria after the year and completed his compulsory service in the Austrian military after graduating from Ballsportgymnasium Wien.[1] Raimann committed to play college football at Central Michigan after his military service was completed.[6]
College career
editRaimann played tight end during his first two seasons at Central Michigan. He caught 20 passes for 164 yards over the course of his first two seasons.[7] He was moved to the offensive tackle position after his sophomore year and started all six of the Chippewas' games during its COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.[4] In 2021, Pro Football Focus named Raimann their Offensive Player of the Year for the Mid-American Conference.[8][9]
Professional career
edit| 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 | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 6 1⁄8 in (1.98 m) |
303 lb (137 kg) |
32 7⁄8 in (0.84 m) |
10 1⁄4 in (0.26 m) |
5.05 s | 1.70 s | 2.87 s | 4.32 s | 7.34 s | 30.5 in (0.77 m) |
9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) |
30 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[10][11] | ||||||||||||
Raimann was selected in the third round (77th overall) of the 2022 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts.[12]
According to Colts beat writer Nate Atkins of the Indianapolis Star, the team counted on moving veteran lineman Matt Pryor to the critical left tackle spot in 2022.[13] This experiment proved a debacle, however, and in Week 5 Raimann was thrust into the starting lineup by head coach Frank Reich.[13] Raimann would start 11 of the final 13 games of his rookie year.[13]
During the off-season, Raimann worked adding strength and mass to his 6'6" frame, putting on 15 pounds.[13] He was named the starting left tackle from the opening week of the 2023 season and would play in 15 games during the year.[13] Raimann's performance was greatly improved during his sophomore season, with Sports Info Solutions analysis indicating that his rate of quarterback sacks allowed fell from 2.2% as a rookie to 1.2% in year two, with his percentage of blown run blocks similarly dropping from 3.7% to 2.1%.[13]
Moreover, Raimann's number of penalties also declined in 2023 versus his rookie 2022 campaign — from 7 accepted flags to 4[14] — despite his participation in 180 more passing snaps during his second season.[13]
References
edit- ^ a b Brugler, Dane (September 30, 2021). "The unlikely journey of Bernhard Raimann, the best NFL prospect you don't know about". The Athletic. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- ^ "2 Michigan football players among NCAA's top 'freaks' for 2021". Detroit Free Press. August 12, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- ^ "Academy," Fussballklub Austria Wien, fk-austria.at, accessed Sept. 28, 2023.
- ^ a b "NFL Prospect Watch: Bernhard Raimann's unusual path". Associated Press. November 20, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ "Austrian-born Bernhard Raimann on brink of improbable NFL career". FoxNews.com. Associated Press. February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
- ^ "Football: Vikings-Spieler Raimann unterschrieb bei Top-Uni-Team". Tiroler Tageszeitung (in German). February 3, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- ^ Nothcraft, Patrick (August 10, 2021). "Three Michigan MAC players named among college football's top 'freak' athletes in 2021". MLive.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
- ^ Treash, Anthony (November 29, 2021). "The 2021 College Football All-MAC Team". Pro Football Focus. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ^ "Raimann Named By PFF As MAC Offensive Player Of The Year". November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ^ "Bernhard Raimann Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
- ^ "Bernhard Raimann, Central Michigan, OT, 2022 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
- ^ Stankevitz, JJ (April 29, 2022). "NFL Draft 2022: Colts Select Central Michigan Offensive Tackle Bernhard Raimann With No. 77 Overall Pick". Colts.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g Nate Atkins, "Most Essential Colts, No. 4: Bernhard Raimann Must Save Anthony Richardson's Blindside," Indianapolis Star, July 18, 2024, www.indystar.com/
- ^ "Bernhard Raimann Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
External links
edit
- Indianapolis Colts bio
- Central Michigan Chippewas bio
- "Bernhard Raimann is Becoming a Stalwart at Left Tackle - Here He Tells You Why!" Kent Sterling via YouTube.com, Sept. 28, 2023. (Video.)