Yosh Nijman facts for kids
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Nijman with the Green Bay Packers in 2022
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| No. 77 – Carolina Panthers | |||||
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| Position: | Offensive tackle | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | January 2, 1996 Orange, New Jersey, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 314 lb (142 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Columbia (Maplewood, New Jersey) | ||||
| College: | Virginia Tech (2014–2018) | ||||
| Undrafted: | 2019 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||
Yosuah Hesdy Nijman (born January 2, 1996) is a professional American football player. He plays as an offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers in the National Football League (NFL). Before joining the NFL, he played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies.
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Early Life and High School Football
Yosh Nijman was born in Orange, New Jersey. His parents are from Suriname. He grew up in Maplewood.
He played high school football at Columbia High School. There, he was an offensive tackle for the Columbia Cougars. After high school, Nijman spent a semester at Fork Union Military Academy. He played as a defensive end there before graduating in 2015.
Yosh was a highly rated player, considered a "four-star" recruit. This meant many colleges wanted him to play for their teams.
College Football Career
Nijman decided to play college football at Virginia Tech. He committed to the team in 2014. Even though he first thought he would play on the defensive line, he ended up playing on the offensive line.
- Freshman Year (2014): Yosh played in 12 games as a backup player.
- Sophomore Year (2015): He became a starter and played in all 14 games as the starting left tackle.
- Junior Year (2016): He played in 9 games but missed the last 5 due to an injury.
- Senior Year (2017): He returned as the starting left tackle. Another injury caused him to miss the last three games of this season.
After the 2018 season, Nijman decided to enter the 2019 NFL draft.
Professional Football Career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 6+7⁄8 in (2.00 m) |
324 lb (147 kg) |
34 in (0.86 m) |
10 in (0.25 m) |
4.88 s | 1.71 s | 2.84 s | 4.50 s | 7.29 s | 30.5 in (0.77 m) |
9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) |
27 reps | |
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Green Bay Packers
After college, the Green Bay Packers signed Yosh Nijman on May 3, 2019. He was an undrafted free agent, meaning no team picked him during the NFL draft.
- 2019 Season: He was first signed to the practice squad. Later, he was promoted to the main team. However, an elbow injury ended his season early.
- 2020 Season: Nijman made the Packers' main roster. He mostly played on special teams, which are units used for kickoffs, punts, and field goals.
- 2021 Season: He started the season as the third-string left tackle. But due to injuries to other players, Nijman got his chance to start. He made his first NFL start in Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers. He continued to start for several weeks. Later in the season, when another teammate got injured, Nijman stepped in again as the starting left tackle.
During this time, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers gave Nijman the nickname "World's Biggest Robot." This was after Nijman did "The Robot" dance during a touchdown celebration! Rodgers praised Nijman, saying he trusted him to protect him during games.
- 2022 Season: Nijman signed a new contract to stay with the Packers. He was named the starting right tackle in Week 7.
- 2023 Season: The Packers kept Nijman by placing a "second-round tender" on him. This meant they wanted him to stay with the team.
Carolina Panthers
On March 18, 2024, Yosh Nijman signed a two-year contract with the Carolina Panthers. He is currently playing for them.
