# Greg Engel > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Greg_Engel > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Greg_Engel.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Engel > Source revision: 1327320768 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Gregory Allen Engel** (born January 18, 1971) is an American former professional [football](/source/American_football) player who was a [center](/source/Center_(gridiron_football)) for four seasons in the [National Football League](/source/National_Football_League) (NFL) with the [San Diego Chargers](/source/San_Diego_Chargers) and [Detroit Lions](/source/Detroit_Lions). He played [college football](/source/College_football) for the [Illinois Fighting Illini](/source/Illinois_Fighting_Illini_football). ## Early life Gregory Allen Engel was born on January 18, 1971, in [Davenport, Iowa](/source/Davenport,_Iowa).[1] He attended [Bloomington High School](/source/Bloomington_High_School_(Bloomington,_Illinois)) in [Bloomington, Illinois](/source/Bloomington,_Illinois).[1] ## College career Engel attended the [University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign](/source/University_of_Illinois_at_Urbana-Champaign) and was a member of the [Fighting Illini](/source/Illinois_Fighting_Illini_football) from 1989 to 1993 and a four-year [letterman](/source/Letterman_(sports)) from 1990 to 1993.[1] He had a disk removed from his back in the summer of 1990 that caused him to miss three months.[2] He made his debut in November 1990 after Curt Lovelace suffered an injury.[2] Engel was then a three-year starter from 1991 to 1993.[2] He was named second-team [All-Big Ten](/source/List_of_All-Big_Ten_Conference_football_teams) by the [Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press) as a senior in 1993.[3] ## Professional career After going undrafted in the [1994 NFL draft](/source/1994_NFL_draft), Engel signed with the [San Diego Chargers](/source/San_Diego_Chargers) on April 28, 1994.[4] He made the team as the third-string center behind starter [Courtney Hall](/source/Courtney_Hall) and backup [Curtis Whitley](/source/Curtis_Whitley).[5] He spent the 1994 season as a healthy scratch on the inactive list and did not play in any games.[6] Engel played in ten regular season games and one postseason game in 1995.[7] In 1996, he appeared in 12 games with nine starts.[7] He then played in nine games during his final year with the Chargers in 1997.[7] Engel became a free agent after the season and re-signed with the Chargers on February 13, 1998.[4] He was released on July 23, 1998.[4] Engel signed with the [Oakland Raiders](/source/Oakland_Raiders) on July 25, 1998.[4] He was released on August 25, 1998.[4] Engel signed with the [Florida Bobcats](/source/Florida_Bobcats) in March 1999.[8] He was waived in early April 1999.[9] Engel was then a member of the [Berlin Thunder](/source/Berlin_Thunder) of [NFL Europe](/source/NFL_Europe) during the [1999 NFL Europe season](/source/1999_NFL_Europe_season) and was listed as an [offensive guard](/source/Offensive_guard).[1] He was signed by the [Detroit Lions](/source/Detroit_Lions) on August 10, 1999, and played in one regular season game before being released on October 8, 1999.[4] ## Personal life Engel has worked in sales after his football career.[2] His son Preston Engel also played football for the Fighting Illini.[2] ## References 1. ["Greg Engel"](https://www.profootballarchives.com/players/e/enge00300.html). Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 27 January 2025. 1. ["Illini Legends, Lists & Lore: Greg Engel"](https://www.news-gazette.com/sports/illini-legends-lists-lore-greg-engel/article_740954aa-d4f9-11ef-a638-3b760786b72f.html). *[The News-Gazette](/source/The_News-Gazette_(Champaign%E2%80%93Urbana))*. January 18, 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2025. 1. ["Badgers, Buckeyes head All-Big Ten football selections"](https://books.google.com/books?id=kw1eAAAAIBAJ&dq=1993+All-Big+Ten+Conference+football+team&pg=PA9&article_id=6811,1484679). *The Telegraph-Herald*. December 7, 1993. p. 2B. 1. ["Greg Engel NFL Transactions"](https://www.profootballarchives.com/transactions/e/enge00300.html). Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 27 January 2025. 1. Kindred, Randy (September 9, 1994). ["Engel getting a charge out of NFL experience"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pantagraph/164125298/). *[The Pantagraph](/source/The_Pantagraph)*. pp. C1. Retrieved 27 January 2025. 1. ["Chargers"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/north-county-times/164125396/). *[North County Times](/source/North_County_Times)*. December 23, 1994. pp. C2. Retrieved 27 January 2025. 1. ["Greg Engel"](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/EngeGr20.htm). [Pro Football Reference](/source/Pro_Football_Reference). Retrieved 27 January 2025. 1. ["Transactions"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/chronicle-tribune/164127566/). *[Chronicle Tribune](/source/Chronicle_Tribune)*. March 18, 1999. pp. B2. Retrieved 28 January 2025. 1. ["Transactions"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/enterprise-record/164127683/). *[Enterprise-Record](/source/Chico_Enterprise-Record)*. April 6, 1999. pp. 3C. Retrieved 28 January 2025. ## External links - [Stats Crew profile](http://www.justsportsstats.com/footballstatsindex.php?player_id=engelgre001) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Greg Engel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Engel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Engel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.