National Football Foundation

Tailback
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology – 3.56 GPA
Head Coach: Tony Reno
Athletics Director: Thomas Beckett

The leading scorer this season in the FCS, Tyler Varga paved the way for an impressive Yale offense, and the Kitchener, Ontario, native becomes the 12th NFF National Scholar-Athlete from Yale.

Varga boasts a 3.56 GPA, and he is majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology. Upon his graduation in May 2015, Varga hopes to attend medical school. 

The dominant tailback is a two-time All-Ivy selection, earning honorable mention honors in 2013 and first team laurels in 2012. In 2012, he was a Second-Team All-American selection and a First-Team All-New England selection. In that same year, he also led the nation with 194.2 all-purpose yards per game while splitting time at running back, quarterback and also returning kickoffs. As a sophomore, Varga led the Ivy League with 116.9 rushing yards per game, and he set the Yale rushing record for a quarterback with 220 yards on 25 carries against Columbia. In 2013, he earned national honors for a career-high 236-yard performance versus Colgate, and earlier this season he played a key role in Yale’s upset over Army, tying the school-record for touchdowns in a game with his fifth in overtime to win the game.

In his hometown of Kitchener, Varga created and organized the Cambridge Lions Charity Youth Football Camp, raising funds to send underprivileged children to academic and athletic enhancement programs for the last three years. He is a member of the Mandi Schwartz Bone Marrow Drive Executive Board that organizes, promotes and conducts the largest bone marrow drive in the nation each spring. Varga also volunteers his time each summer at the Cambridge Memorial Hospital. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent after the 2015 NFL Draft.