Sports

'08 L-W East Football Player Goes to the NFL, Arizona Cardinals

Dan Giordano, 23, of Frankfort, signed as a free agent with the Cardinals on Saturday, his mom announced. Giordano was defensive standout for the Griffins before going on to play at the University of Cincinnati.

Lincoln-Way East defensive standout Dan Giordano signed as an NFL free agent with the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday night.

His mother, Denise, announced the signing in a Facebook message to Patch.

Giordano, of Frankfort, wasn't chosen during the three-day NFL draft, which ran from Thursday, April 25, to Saturday, April 27. But his signing after the draft means he has a chance to earn a spot on the Cardinals' roster this upcoming season.

Find out what's happening in Frankfortwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A four-year starter at defensive end for the Griffins, Giordano was named defensive player of the year in the Southwest Suburban Conference for the 2007 season as a senior. He also was part of East's 2005 team that won the 8A state title.

Giordano, 23, continued as a defensive player at the University of Cincinnati and was selected to the All-Big East Conference first team for defense in 2012. He majored in pre-business administration at Cincinnati and graduated in 2012.

Find out what's happening in Frankfortwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Commenting about her son's signing, Denise said, "Oh yeah! We're crazy excited and overwhelmed about it."

A mother's thoughts about her son's success

The NFL has "always what he wanted. We supported him. He's always wanted to go pro. All that hard work really paid off for him." Before high school, he played football for the Frankfort Square Wildcats, said Denise.

As a Bearcat, he played in four bowl games—the Orange Bowl, the Liberty Bowl, Belk Bowl and Sugar Bowl."

So far, it looks like he'll be playing defensive end for Arizona, she added.  

Earlier this month, Dane Brugler of NFLDraftScout.com had the following pre-draft assessment of Giordano:

A regular in the weight room, Giordano has athletic limitations, but plays with infectious energy and a relentless style of football that NFL coaches will love.

READ Giordano's bio from the Bearcats.

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