Matt Bernstein (American football)
| No. 44 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Fullback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | December 26, 1982 Scarsdale, New York |
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight: | 265 lb (120 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Greenville (NY) Edgemont |
| College: | Wisconsin |
| Undrafted: | 2006 |
| Career history | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Stats at ArenaFan.com | |
Matt Bernstein (born December 26, 1982) is a former American football Fullback. He played college football at University of Wisconsin–Madison. He attempted to play in the Arena Football League after a stint in the National Football League with the Detroit Lions. [1][2] He was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. He has two brothers, Alex and Ben.
High school
- Two-time Class C Player of the Year selection at Edgemont Junior – Senior High School in New York.[3]
- Played fullback, linebacker and tight end.[4]
- Rushed for 1,885 yards and 25 scores as a junior.[3]
- Added 37 touchdowns and 2,002 yards on the ground and made 108 tackles with seven forced fumbles as a senior, earning the prep version of the Heisman Trophy for that performance.[3]
- Finished his career ranked third all-time in New York prep annals in scoring with 504 points.[4]
- Con Edison Scholar-Athlete[4]
College
As a junior, Bernstein, who is Jewish, fasted in observance of the religious holiday Yom Kippur prior to a game against Penn State. Bernstein recovered from the fast with a "pregame IV bag, and during the game, moved on to turkey slices, fruit and the Penn State defense", according to ESPN.[5][6]
- Produced 53 touchdown-resulting blocks for a ground game that totaled 71 rushing touchdowns during his first three seasons at Wisconsin.[4]
- Averaged 10 knockdown blocks per game and made 11 touchdown resulting blocks as a pass protector.[3]
- Preseason All-American and All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection by The NFL Draft Report as a senior.[4]
- Inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.[7]
- Started every game as a junior and finished third on the team with a career-high 300 rushing yards and a touchdown.[4]
- Played in every game in 2003 as a sophomore and emerged as the starting fullback.[4]
- Elroy Hirsch Football Scholarship.[8]
- Academic All-Big Ten Conference selection as a redshirt freshman.[4]
- Signed by the Lions as an undrafted free agent.[4]
References
- ^ "Former Badger gets taste of Israel", Jerusalem Post, December 29, 2006
- ^ "Philadelphia Soul Sign FB's Matt Bernstein and George Layne – AFL", The Raw Feed, January 18, 2007
- ^ a b c d "Matt Bernstein Draft Profile". FoxSports.com. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "44 Matt Bernstein". DetroitLions.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2007. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
- ^ Mietkiewicz, Mark. "To play or pray: Yom Kippur and Jewish pro athletes". St. Louis Jewish Light. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
- ^ Maisel, Ivan. "Bernstein feasted on Penn State after fasting". ESPN. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ Profile of Bernstein on National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame web site.
- ^ Badger Chalk Talk, Fall 2002, Volume 02, Issue 3.
External links
- Video highlights of Bernstein.
- "Leader of Edgemont High Team Runs Through the Competition", profile of Bernstein in New York Times, December 3, 2000, by Chuck Slater.