News
Gabe Carimi Trades Up
06 Oct 11
By: Lisa Barr
Gabe Carimi, aka “Bear Jew,” has one foot out of Wisconsin and is making his way to Halas Hall. The 6-foot-7-inch, 314-pound All-American left tackle from University of Wisconsin-Madison was the first-round draft pick for the Chicago Bears—but he’s far from a typical jock.
In April, the NFL Draft landed on the same day that Carimi, a civil and environmental engineering major, was scheduled to present his capstone project to his professor. While the other top college football players were being celebrated at Radio City Music Hall, the bookish Carimi chose to stay in Madison for his presentation. “Sports are very important to me,” Carimi says, “but so is education. The key to my success is to be consistent in all areas of my life.”
At 23, Carimi already holds an impressive list of football credentials. He cocaptained the Big Ten champion Badgers and received the Outland Trophy (awarded to the nation’s best college football interior lineman). But perhaps most significant was being awarded the Marty Glickman Outstanding Jewish Scholastic Athlete of the Year Award. For Carimi, being Jewish is as important as being a pro-bowl athlete. He recently told a group of scouts and sports writers: “I checked the next 10 years of games… none falls on Yom Kippur, so I’m good to go.”
