David Molk

David Michael Molk (born December 15, 1988) is a former American football center.

He was named an All-State player by the Chicago Tribune and was selected to play in the first East-West All-America Football Game in January 2007.

Molk enrolled at the University of Michigan in 2007.

In addition, he was selected to the Chicago Tribune All-State team, and he was selected to play in the first East-West All-America Football Game sponsored by ESPN and MLS Sports in Orlando, Florida suburb Lake Buena Vista on January 6, 2007.

Molk was also an honors student in his senior year of high school.

Molk attended the University of Michigan, where he played for the Michigan Wolverines football team from 2007 to 2011.

Entering the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Molk was a serious contender to start in the season opener due to injuries for the 2007 Michigan Wolverines football team.

He missed portions of the 2008 and 2009 seasons with injury.

Upon the arrival of new head coach Rich Rodriguez in the spring prior to the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Molk was expected to be a starter for the 2008 Michigan Wolverines football team after redshirtting the prior year.

He spent the summer after his redshirt season perfecting the shotgun formation snap.

However, he endured a serious undisclosed illness that caused him to lose 15 lbs and found himself in a battle with redshirt junior David Moosman to be the starting center.

As his struggles continued, it was revealed that he had mononucleosis.

Despite his struggles, he was awarded the Iron Wolverine Award at the spring football awards in recognition of his superior conditioning based on a series of physical tests.

As a result of injuries, both Moosman and Molk were in the starting lineup for the 2008 opener.

Offensive line injuries continued to affect the lineup through the early part of the season with Molk (center), Moosman (right offensive guard) and Stephen Schilling (right offensive tackle) being the only players to start each of the first four games.

Molk injured his toe at the end Little Brown Jug game against Minnesota of the November 8, 2008, but he was fine the following week.

As the young offense finished the season with a 3–9 record, it expected its entire starting offensive line to return the following season.

In fact, considering injuries, the team returned a total of seven offensive linemen who started games.

In Molk's second year of spring football he earned the sophomore award for toughness and work ethic during the Michigan spring football awards.

By the end of the spring he was among the 44 centers on the 2009 Rimington Trophy spring watch list for the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season.

He was also included on the watch list for the 2009 Lombardi Award.

Molk suffered a broken foot in the third game of the season as the 2009 Wolverines pushed their record to 3–0 and had surgery two days later.

As a redshirt junior in 2010, Molk was the cornerstone in an offensive line that helped Denard Robinson break the Big Ten Conference single-season record with 4,189 yards of total offense.

Molk was recognized as a first-team All-Big Ten Conference player at the end of the 2010 season.

Molk previously played college football at the same position for University of Michigan, where he was a consensus All-American and won the 2011 Rimington Trophy as the best center in college football.

He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles, and the San Diego Chargers.

Molk grew up in the Chicago area and played high school football at Lemont Township High School.

As a redshirt senior in 2011, Molk anchored a line that led the way for Denard Robinson and Fitzgerald Toussaint to become Michigan's first duo of 1,000-yard rushers since 1975.

At the end of the 2011 season, he won the Rimington Trophy and was a consensus first-team All-American.

Molk was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

He appeared in 12 games, none as a starter, for the Chargers during the 2012 NFL season.

Molk was once a 5 ft 175 lbs Lemont Township High School freshman who could only bench press 110 lbs and squat 250 lbs.

By the end of his junior year, he was one of the most highly recruited high school football players in the Chicago metropolitan area.

By his senior season, he was a 6 ft 270 lbs center who could bench press 370 lbs, squat 550 lbs and power clean 320 lbs.

His high school gym closed at 5:00 PM and he had to go into town for extra workout time.

He chose to be a center because, although he is too short to be a major Division I college football offensive guard or offensive tackle, he had the potential to be a successful center.

He was actually discovered when a scout came to his school to watch a teammate.

During the summer prior to his senior season, he made a verbal commitment to the University of Michigan, in part due to its business school, the Ross School of Business.

At the end of his junior year he had received scholarship offers from ten schools, including six Big Ten Conference football programs.

As a senior, Molk was selected to numerous All-area football teams by various organizations including The Star, Daily Southtown, and Prep Football Report selected by Tom Lemming.