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Seth McLaughlin (born August 27, 2001) is an American professional football center for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide and Ohio State Buckeyes.

Early life

McLaughlin was born in Alcoa, Tennessee and moved with his family to Buford, Georgia the summer before his freshman year of high school.[2] He attended Buford High School, where he played center & left tackle on a Wolves offense that scored 467 points and rushed for 3,400 yards during his senior season in 2019.[3] Buford won the Class 5A Georgia state championship that year, and McLaughlin was named a PrepStar All-Southeast Region honoree.[3]

He held offers from Michigan, Georgia, Auburn, LSU, Oklahoma, Miami, Florida State, and South Carolina, among more than a dozen Power Five programs, before committing to play college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide.[4] Rated a three-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals and a four-star by ESPN—which ranked him the No. 4 center nationally—McLaughlin signed with Alabama on December 18, 2019.[3]

College career

Alabama

As a freshman in 2020, McLaughlin played in two games. That season, he was part of Alabama’s national championship run. As a redshirt freshman in 2021, McLaughlin saw his first significant action when he replaced Darrian Dalcourt at center in the second half of the Iron Bowl, a quadruple-overtime win over rival Auburn that was the first overtime game in Iron Bowl history.[5][3] The following week, he made his first career start in the 2021 SEC Championship Game against top-ranked Georgia, whose defense entered the game ranked No. 1 nationally in both scoring (6.9 points per game) and total yards allowed; Alabama won 41–24.[6] McLaughlin retained the starting center role through the rest of the postseason, starting in Alabama’s Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal win over Cincinnati and in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship, a 33–18 loss to Georgia.[7]

In 2022, McLaughlin played in 11 games while making eight starts and logged 913 snaps, allowing one sack and 14 pressures per Pro Football Focus while helping Alabama’s offense rank fourth nationally at 5.55 yards per carry.[3] He entered the 2023 season on the Rimington Trophy watchlist, awarded to the nation’s best center, and started all 14 games at center as Alabama won the SEC Championship and reached the College Football Playoff. Alabama’s offense used a clap cadence in shotgun, and McLaughlin had several errant snaps during the 2023 season. One occurred in the 2023 Iron Bowl, when Auburn safety Zion Puckett clapped before the snap on a critical second-down play, which Alabama left guard Tyler Booker confirmed on film and which head coach Nick Saban said should have been penalized as illegal simulation of the snap count.[8] The resulting bad snap and a subsequent penalty helped create a fourth-and-31 situation from the Auburn 31-yard line, from which quarterback Jalen Milroe completed a 31-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Bond in the back corner of the end zone with 32 seconds left, on a play Bond later named “Grave Digger”. The score gave Alabama a 27–24 win and kept the Crimson Tide’s College Football Playoff hopes alive.[9] Snap issues continued in the 2024 Rose Bowl, a College Football Playoff semifinal in which McLaughlin had three errant snaps, including a low snap on the final play of the game, a fourth-and-goal in overtime. On the play, Milroe was stopped short of the end zone on a designed run, with analysts also noting that Michigan’s defensive line, including a key block from edge rusher Josaiah Stewart on right tackle JC Latham, collapsed the pocket before Milroe could execute the run.[10] Saban later attributed the broader snap issues to a miscommunication, saying that while Michigan was not actually clapping, McLaughlin had been reacting to ambient noise he mistook for Milroe’s clap cadence.[11] Following the loss, McLaughlin entered the NCAA transfer portal.

In McLaughlin’s career with the Crimson Tide, he appeared in 35 games with 24 being starts.

Ohio State

McLaughlin entered the NCAA transfer portal on January 4, 2024, and announced his transfer to Ohio State three days later. He started the first 10 games of the 2024 season at center and was a central figure on a Buckeyes offensive line that finished fourth nationally in tackles for loss allowed (42) and 16th in sacks allowed (13).[12] According to Pro Football Focus, McLaughlin did not allow a sack and surrendered just seven pressures in his ten games, and graded as a Buckeyes “champion” in all ten.[13][14]

On November 19, 2024, McLaughlin ruptured his Achilles tendon in practice, ending his playing season.[15] Despite the injury, he was named a semifinalist for the Outland Trophy as the only center among the seven semifinalists,[16] a consensus first-team All-American, and first-team All-Big Ten on the conference head coaches’ ballot.[13] On December 12, 2024, he was awarded the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s outstanding center, becoming the fourth Ohio State player to win the award and the first since Billy Price in 2017. The win also gave Ohio State the outright lead for most Rimington Trophy winners of any program.[12] McLaughlin and teammate Donovan Jackson also became just the third and fourth players in Ohio State history to earn first-team All-American honors and first-team Academic All-American honors in the same year, joining Bob White in 1958 and Randy Gradishar in 1973.

McLaughlin remained with the team for the postseason in a leadership capacity, with head coach Ryan Day calling him “almost like a coach” for the younger linemen.[15] Ohio State went on to win four straight College Football Playoff games, defeating Notre Dame 34–23 in the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship, giving McLaughlin his second national championship ring after the 2020 Alabama title.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span Wingspan
6 ft 4 in
(1.93 m)		 304 lb
(138 kg)		 31 in
(0.79 m)		 9+1⁄2 in
(0.24 m)		 6 ft 6+1⁄4 in
(1.99 m)
All values from NFL Combine[17][18]

Cincinnati Bengals

On May 9, 2025, Seth signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent.[19] He was the best available player not to be drafted in 2025 according to ESPN (ranked as the 135th best player and 2nd best center).[20] On July 30, McLaughlin passed a physical and was cleared to practice. He had been on the Active/Non-Football Injury list since July 19 while recovering from the ruptured Achilles he suffered in November 2024 at Ohio State.[21] McLaughlin was waived on August 26 as part of final roster cuts and re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[22][23]

Detroit Lions

On January 6, 2026, McLaughlin signed a reserve/future contract with the Detroit Lions.[24]

References

  1. ^ Brugler, Dane. “The Beast: 2025 NFL Draft Guide” (PDF). The Athletic. p. 253. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  2. ^ Caine, Stephanie. “Buford High School Alumni — Then and Now: Seth McLaughlin”. North Gwinnett Voice. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e “Seth McLaughlin – Football”. Alabama Athletics. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  4. ^ “Clemson offers rising Georgia OL prospect”. TigerNet. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  5. ^ “No. 3 Alabama rallies to defeat Auburn in quadruple overtime”. NCAA.com. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  6. ^ Cobb, David (December 5, 2021). “Alabama vs. Georgia score, takeaways: Tide blast Dawgs to win SEC championship as both clinch playoff bids”. CBS Sports. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  7. ^ Kelly, Nick. “Alabama center Seth McLaughlin: ‘I don’t know what the future holds for me’“. 247Sports. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  8. ^ Goodwin, Cody. “Did an Auburn defender clap to cause Seth McLaughlin’s early snap on Alabama’s final drive on Saturday?”. 247Sports. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  9. ^ Forde, Pat. “With ‘Gravedigger,’ Isaiah Bond and Alabama deliver fourth-and-31 miracle that will live on forever in Iron Bowl lore”. Yahoo Sports. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  10. ^ Staples, Andy. “Breaking down final play of Rose Bowl from Alabama offense, Michigan defense”. On3. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  11. ^ “Nick Saban gives explanation for Seth McLaughlin’s bad snaps for Alabama in Rose Bowl”. 247Sports. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  12. ^ a b Means, Stephen. “Ohio State’s Seth McLaughlin Wins Rimington Trophy As College Football’s Best Center”. Eleven Warriors. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  13. ^ a b “Seth McLaughlin – 2024 Football”. Ohio State Buckeyes. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  14. ^ “Detroit Lions sign center Seth McLaughlin to futures contract”. Pride of Detroit. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  15. ^ a b Means, Stephen. “Seth McLaughlin Shows Continued Leadership at Ohio State Practice One Day After Season-Ending Achilles Injury”. Eleven Warriors. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  16. ^ “Seth McLaughlin Named a Semifinalist for the Outland Trophy”. Ohio State Buckeyes. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  17. ^ “Seth McLaughlin Draft and Combine Prospect Profile”. NFL.com. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  18. ^ “Seth McLaughlin College Football Profile”. DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  19. ^ “Bengals Sign 13 Rookies BENGALS ROSTER UPDATE”. Bengals.com. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
  20. ^ Roling, Chris. “Bengals land NFL’s top undrafted free agent after draft”. Bengals Wire. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
  21. ^ “Bengals Release Zack Moss | BENGALS ROSTER UPDATE”. Bengals.com. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  22. ^ “Bengals Reduce Final Roster to 53 Players for 2025 Season”. Bengals.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  23. ^ “Bengals Sign 14 Players to 2025 Practice Squad | BENGALS ROSTER UPDATE”. Bengals.com. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  24. ^ Helmer, Josh (January 6, 2026). “Detroit Lions sign Bengals center to Reserve/Future contract”. Lions Wire. USA Today. Retrieved June 6, 2026.