Patrick O'Connell
No. 50 – Seattle Seahawks
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1998-12-31) December 31, 1998
Kalispell, Montana, U.S.
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
Tackles:1
Player stats at NFL.com · 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.

Early years

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]

College career

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]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jump
6 ft 1 in
(1.85 m)		 227 lb
(103 kg)		 31+7⁄8 in
(0.81 m)		 9+1⁄2 in
(0.24 m)		4.70 s1.63 s2.75 s4.28 s6.97 s38.5 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]

References

  1. 1 2 "Patrick O'Connell Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Gogola, Frank (September 23, 2022). "Swinging for the fences: Kalispell's Pat O'Connell enjoys stellar football career after giving up baseball". 406 MT Sports.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Patrick O'Connell". Montana Grizzlies.
  4. 1 2 Balderas, Al (July 13, 2017). "It's good to be pesky". The Montana Standard. p. B1, B8 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ↑ Neighbor, Fritz (December 10, 2022). "Patrick O'Connell bet on himself and became a Griz great". Daily Inter Lake.
  6. 1 2 3 Herder, Sam (July 11, 2022). "2022 FCS Jersey Countdown: 58 — The Best Player Who Wears No. 58 Is Montana's Patrick O'Connell". HERO Sports.
  7. 1 2 3 Smith, Corbin K. (June 10, 2023). "Seahawks 90-Man Countdown: LB Patrick O'Connell - Diamond in the Middle?". Sports Illustrated.
  8. ↑ Neighbor, Fritz (December 7, 2022). "Big Sky Notes: Griz LB O'Connell is Hula Bowl-bound". Daily Inter Lake.
  9. ↑ "2023 Draft Scout Patrick O'Connell, Montana NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Realizing a Dream: Glacier High Grad to Seahawks". Flathead Beacon. May 1, 2023.
  11. ↑ Condotta, Bob (August 29, 2023). "Analysis: Breaking down Seahawks' initial 53-man roster for 2023 season". The Seattle Times.
  12. ↑ Bagby, Vince (August 30, 2023). "Patrick O'Connell, Ty Okada Both Added to Seahawks Practice Squad". KULR-TV.
  13. ↑ Hansen, Kyle (December 9, 2023). "Seattle Seahawks elevate former Montana Griz LB Patrick O'Connell". MontanaSports.com.
  14. ↑ "Patrick O'Connell Career Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  15. ↑ "Former Montana LB Patrick O'Connell, ex-Montana State DB Ty Okada signed to Seattle Seahawks' 53-man roster". MontanaSports.com. December 30, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Briefs: O'Connell gets tackle; Lady Griz, Bobcats win". Daily Inter Lake. January 1, 2024.
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