Danny Pinter

Classroom

Dedicated to excellence both on and off the field, Pinter earned his bachelor’s degree in just three and a half years. He graduated in December 2018 with a 3.718 GPA in Ball State’s business administration program. Pinter is now pursuing an MBA with a 3.889 GPA in his graduate course work.

One of Ball State’s top NFL prospects, Pinter may very well have a professional football career ahead of him. When his playing days are finished, he has aspirations for a front office career in pro sports or in coaching. Also an outdoors aficionado, he has a desire to work on the business side of the National Park Service, as well.

Character

Pinter is one of the most respected members of the Ball State team by both the coaches and his fellow players. He was voted to the Cardinals’ Leadership Council by his teammates this season for the second straight year.

Also for the second year in a row, Pinter finished first in the “Tough Cardinal” standings, a program in which coaches identify the players who best exemplify Ball State’s eight pillars of “tough”: discipline, effort, attitude, passion, competitive toughness, physical toughness, perseverance and influence on others.

Pinter won Ball State’s Dave McClain Leadership Award last year after a season in which he switched positions from tight end to right tackle to bolster the Cardinals in the trenches. He is also known to organize team dinners with various position groups in an effort to build bonds within the team.

“Danny Pinter is as rock solid as you could ask out of a young man from a character standpoint, work ethic standpoint,” BSU Head Coach Mike New told the Ball State Daily News. “(He) represents everything you want out of a student-athlete.”

Community

On a team noted for its community involvement, Pinter is one of the most active, especially in giving his attention to the youth in the Muncie area. He participated in the Muncie Children’s Museum’s Day with Ball State Football, interacting with kids and their families and teaching basic football skills. He spoke about his experiences as a collegiate student-athlete to the students at Inspire Academy, a Ball State charter school in urban Muncie. And just this summer, he volunteered with the youth day camp at the Ross Community Center, a local organization with programming aimed at building a sense of community among those it serves.

Pinter is an active participant in the Ball State football program’s Squat for Riley campaign. Players seek donation pledges based on the amount they are able to squat during a one-day attempt to set personal-best marks in the weight room. The money they raise goes to support Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.

Pinter has also volunteered at the Muncie Mission, helping to prepare and serve lunch to residents seeking relief from homelessness or recovering from addiction.

Competition

Pinter is now in his second season as Ball State’s starting right tackle after grading out as the team’s top offensive lineman a year ago. He has long been one of the Cardinals’ best all-around athletes, as evidenced by his ability to thrive first at tight end and now on the line. Last year, despite his position change, he rated as the Cardinals’ fifth-best overall player according to the Pro Football Focus’ year-long performance evaluations.

Although he had never played offensive line before, Pinter was Ball State’s top performing lineman by nearly eight full points on the Pro Football Focus 100-point scale. He was the only BSU offensive lineman to start every game, and his 931 total snaps for the year were the most of any player on the team, regardless of position.

During his redshirt sophomore campaign in 2017, his final year at tight end, Pinter won Ball State’s Ray Louthen Award Most Improved Player Award despite missing basically six full games with a season-ending injury. He made the move to tackle the following spring.