Vienna signs massive D1 offensive lineman
Alex Malchow
The Vienna Vikings have made a massive signing by agreeing to terms with Swedish offensive lineman Victor Stoffel. The former D1 lineman brings experience from the NCAA’s highest level and unmatched size to the Vikings experienced offensive line.
Stoffel, stands at 200 cm and 135 kg. This will be his first season back in Europe since his youth days playing in Sweden. Since 2018 Stoffel has been a key offensive lineman in the United States playing for Temple University and the University of California.
College career
At Temple University, Stoffel started his last 20 games at right tackle and was named game captain five times in his career for the Owls. In 2023, he was named All-American honorable mention by College Football Network, and honorable mention all-conference.
Vikings head coach Chris Calaycay on signing Victor:
"Victor is one of those European talents and stories that make the European League of Football so great. To have him join the Vikings this season was a combination of incredible timing and chemistry. His number of starts, size and skill, and level of play make him one of the most exciting newcomers to watch in the entire league. We can’t wait to have him finally with us in Vienna."
In 2024 as a graduate transfer, Stoffel headed to the west coast playing for the University of California Bears. There he played in all 13 games this past season competing in the ACC amongst some of the nation's best teams.
Why Vienna?
The Stockholm, Sweden native is thrilled to be back in Europe playing in Austria for the first time. The former all-conference lineman commented on why he chose Vienna:
“The city and the successful team. I love to travel, and Vienna was somewhere I’ve never been before. It is a beautiful city, and it has a great football team that has done really well in the European League of Football."
"My goals are to have fun and to dominate while doing so. The goal is always to win the next game and stack them to get to and win the championship."
Stoffel joins a stacked offensive line in Vienna that features Lukas Holub and Tony Koskinen. The Vikings unit hopes to protect returning quarterback Ben Holmes well as the Vikings look to make another run at the title game this September.