Kyler Fackrell

Kyler Bruce Fackrell (born November 25, 1991) is an American football outside linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played high school football at Mesa High School in Mesa, Arizona before attending Utah State and playing for their football team on a scholarship. At Utah State, he was a four-year starter at linebacker where he was named to multiple All-Conference teams. He was drafted after his senior year of college by the Green Bay Packers in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Early years

Fackrell attended Mesa High School in Mesa, Arizona. He played linebacker, quarterback and wide receiver. In his senior year, he played three games at quarterback, 11 as a receiver, and played in all 14 games at linebacker. His team finished second in the state playoffs. He had 68 tackles (25 solo), eight passes defensed, two interceptions and forced a fumble on the defensive side of the ball. On offense, he had 36 receptions totaling 662 yards and five touchdowns; he also had 22 rushes for 159 yards and three touchdowns. As a quarterback he completed 22 of 38 passes for 334 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. In addition to football, he also lettered in basketball and volleyball.^[1]

Fackrell was not highly recruited coming out of high school and was only offered one division-one scholarship from Utah State. Utah State decided to offer him a scholarship because one of his high school coaches knew an assistant coach there, which caused the university to take a look at him. Additionally, his father played for Utah State as a defensive end and his mother was a cheerleader.^[2]

College career

Fackrell took a year off after high school and made a living painting houses while deciding whether or not to go on a Mormon mission.^[3] He ultimately decided to accept the scholarship to play football for the Utah State Aggies and received redshirt status his freshman year. In his first year of eligibility, he started all 13 games for the Aggies and had a career-high in sacks against San Jose State University; the team set a school single-game record with 13 total sacks in the game. He went on to block a field goal against New Mexico State.^[1] He finished the year as the first player in the school's history to be named a Freshman All-American and the fourth to win All-Conference First Team honors.^[4][5]

In his sophomore year Fackrell continued to impress as he again started all 14 games and led the team with 13 tackles for loss and also had two forced fumbles and five sacks. He had a career high in tackles against BYU and was the Mountain West's Defensive Player of the week. During the game against Hawaii, he intercepted a pass and returned it 99 yards for his first career touchdown; the return ranks as the third longest in school history. During a game later that year against Weber State, he caught a 4 yard pass and became the first person since 1964 in Utah State's history to have an offensive and defensive touchdown in the same season.^[1] His efforts earned him a spot on the All-Conference Second Team.^[6]

Fackrell's junior season was cut short by injury in the second quarter against the Tennessee Volunteers as he suffered an ACL injury. He missed the rest of the year.^[3]

Coming back from the injury the next season, Fackrell started all 13 games and ranked first in the country with five fumble recoveries. On top of that, he also ranked first on the team with 15 tackles for loss and broke the school-record for 12 quarterback hurries; he also finished second in the season with 4 sacks. Two of those forced fumbles happened in a game against Nevada and he added a defensive touchdown when he recovered one of them in the endzone. He was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week two times that season. He finished his last year with the Aggies by being named a fourth-team All-American by Phil Steele and a First Team Conference selection.^[7][8]

Professional career

Fackrell was projected by Lance Zierlein of NFL.com to be a third round pick. He stated that he possessed "premium" athleticism and cited his multiple-sport career and high school. He also complimented his tackling ability and believed he was capable of becoming a pass rusher and mentioned his good cover ability.^[9] However, concerns were also brought up about his age, as he was one of the oldest players in the draft, and was coming back from an injury. One AFC scout mentioned that he was really talented but he can no longer play in space since his injury. Another AFC scout also mentioned that he had not been the same since the injury. During the NFL Combine, Fackrell commented that doctors were very interested in his knee. He also commented that scouts did not seem concerned about his age at first, but as the draft neared it became a larger concern.^[3]

Fackrell was drafted 88th overall by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft.^[9] The pick was criticized by ESPN Staff writer Rob Demovsky for failing to address what was believed to be the biggest need at inside linebacker.^[11] When Fackrell found out he was drafted by the Packers, he and his wife literally fell to their knees in celebration.^[12] Fackrell shares a locker next to former pro-bowler Julius Peppers and it is believed he was picked by Green Bay in part because of Peppers' age and the fact he is entering the final year of his contract.^[13]

On September 25, 2016, Fackrell registered his first career sack of Matthew Stafford in a 34-27 win over the Detroit Lions. ^[14]

References

External links

• Utah State Aggies bio