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Matt Bernstein (born December 26, 1982) is a former American football fullback. He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers, and signed with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) as an unsigned free agent. He was also a member of the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League (AFL).

High school career

Bernstein attended Edgemont Junior – Senior High School in New York, where he played as a fullback, linebacker, and tight end. He rushed for 1,885 yards and 25 scores as a junior. He then 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. Bernstein finished his career ranked third all-time in New York prep annals in scoring with 504 points. He was a two-time Class C Player of the Year selection and a Con Edison Scholar-Athlete.

College career

Bernstein played for the Wisconsin Badgers. As a redshirt freshman, he was named Academic All-Big Ten Conference selection and received the Elroy Hirsch Football Scholarship. He produced 53 touchdown-resulting blocks for a ground game that totaled 71 rushing touchdowns during his first three seasons at Wisconsin, and averaged 10 knockdown blocks per game and made 11 touchdown resulting blocks as a pass protector.

Bernstein played in every game in 2003 as a sophomore and emerged as the starting fullback. He started every game as a junior and finished third on the team with a career-high 300 rushing yards and a touchdown. He was named preseason All-American and All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection by The NFL Draft Report as a senior.

During his junior year, Bernstein, who is Jewish, fasted in observance of the religious holiday Yom Kippur prior to a game against the Penn State Nittany Lions. 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. In 2006, he was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Bernstein was signed by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent, but was cut prior to the start of the 2006 season. The following year, he joined the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League (AFL). However, he spent the entire 2007 season on injured reserve. In 2008, he attended a mini-camp with the New York Giants.

See also

• List of select Jewish football players

References

1. ^ "Matt Bernstein Draft Profile". FoxSports.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
2. ^ "44 Matt Bernstein". DetroitLions.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2007. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
3. Badger Chalk Talk Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, Fall 2002, Volume 02, Issue 3.
4. ^ Mietkiewicz, Mark. "To play or pray: Yom Kippur and Jewish pro athletes". St. Louis Jewish Light. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
5. ^ Maisel, Ivan. "Bernstein feasted on Penn State after fasting". ESPN. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
6. Profile of Bernstein on National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame web site.
7. "Philadelphia Soul Sign FB's Matt Bernstein and George Layne – AFL" Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, The Raw Feed, January 18, 2007
8. "Former Badger gets taste of Israel", Jerusalem Post, December 29, 2006

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.

• 1982 births
• Living people
• American football fullbacks
• Detroit Lions players
• Philadelphia Soul players
• Wisconsin Badgers football players
• People from Scarsdale, New York
• Players of American football from Westchester County, New York
• Jewish American players of American football
• Edgemont Junior – Senior High School alumni
• 21st-century American Jews
• Jews from New York (state)