Constantin Ritzmann is a German-born player of American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

.

Early years

He was born in Freiburg

Freiburg

Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. He moved from Berlin, Germany to Tallahassee, Florida in hopes of achieving success in American football. As a high school senior

Twelfth grade

Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...

 he was offered a scholarship from multiple D1 football powerhouses, including the University of Florida, Florida State, Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio State and many more.

He ended up choosing Tennessee over Florida State in 1998.

College career

At Tennessee he saw playing time as a true freshman. He became a starter midway through his junior season and a team captain as a senior in 2003. He led the Tennessee Volunteers

University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

 to an upset victory over then number 4 Miami which ended the nation's longest home winning streak.

Professional career

Constantin was signed by the Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in 2004 as an undrafted defensive end

Defensive end

Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...

. He made the opening day roster. He was the first German-born non-kicker to appear on an NFL opening day roster.

During the 2005 season he was activated by the Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and played in the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

. His playing time in this game made him the first European player to actually see playing time during the regular season.

He finished his football career in 2007 with the Berlin Thunder

Berlin Thunder

The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe, which was a springtime American football league serving primarily as a developmental league for the National Football League. Most of the players were young American professional players assigned by NFL teams to receive...

 of the NFL Europa.

External links

• Tennessee Volunteers bio