Jared Zabransky
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| Pittsburgh Steelers — No. 5 | |
| Quarterback | |
| Date of birth: December 4, 1983 | |
| Place of birth: Hermiston, Oregon | |
| Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | Weight: 219 lb (99 kg) |
| National Football League debut | |
|---|---|
| No regular season or postseason appearances | |
| Career history | |
| College: Boise State | |
| Undrafted in 2007 | |
Teams:
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| Current status: Active | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Selected NFL statistics (through Week 17 of the 2007 NFL season) |
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| TD-INT | -- |
| Passing yards | -- |
| QB Rating | -- |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
Jared Zabransky (born December 4, 1983 in Hermiston, Oregon) is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Boise State.
Zabransky is perhaps best known for his performance in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, of which he was named Most Valuable Player.
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[edit] Early years
Jared grew up in a farming family in Hermiston, Oregon. He attended Hermiston High School and was an outstanding three-sport athlete, competing in football, baseball, and basketball. Zabransky won Eastern Oregon's Male Athlete of the Year award his junior year in 2002. In addition to being on the honor roll, Zabransky showed his prowess on the gridiron by passing for 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns as team captain.
[edit] College career
[edit] 2002-2003
Zabransky was redshirted in 2002, his first season at Boise State. He backed-up Ryan Dinwiddie in 2003, in which Jared completed 11-of-23 passes for 180 yards and one touchdown.
[edit] 2004
Zabransky took the reins as the Broncos' starting quarterback in 2004. It was this season that he led Boise State to an 11-1 record; the only loss was to Louisville. He was named honorable mention All-America by Sports Illustrated, second-team All-WAC, and was voted the team's Most Valuable Player.
[edit] 2005
In 2005, he remained in charge of the Broncos' high-powered offense. While he did start all 13 games, he had what many consider an off-year. He passed for 2,562 yards and threw 18 touchdowns. But he also threw 16 interceptions and was occasionally benched in favor of backup quarterback Taylor Tharp. Boise State's season opener against the Georgia Bulldogs was a disaster for Zabransky, in which he threw four interceptions in the first half, as well as committing a fumble. Despite having a subpar season for a player of his ability, he was able to help take Boise State to the MPC Computers Bowl on their home turf of Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho to face Boston College. After falling beind a 24-0 at the half, Boise State rallied, reducing Boston College's lead to 27-21 late in the 4th quarter. Hopes of a comeback were crushed, however, when Zabransky threw an interception in the Boston College endzone with 37 seconds remaining in the game. The Boise State Broncos finished the 2005 season with a 9-4 record.
[edit] 2006
Jared Zabransky was named 11th best quarterback in the nation by The Sporting News, as well as being named to the 2006 Maxwell Award watch list. Zabransky resumed his job as starting quarterback for the 2006 season, his senior year. The season proved to be a resounding success for both Jared and Boise State. Zabransky led his team to a perfect 12-0 regular season record, capturing BSU's fifth consecutive WAC championship. Statistically, it was Jared's best season as well. He finished the regular season with 23 touchdown passes and only 7 interceptions. The Boise State Broncos defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in overtime in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on January 1, 2007 by a score of 43-42. Zabransky helped his team into overtime by executing a last-minute hook and lateral for the game-tying touchdown. Then, in overtime, Zabransky executed a Statue of Liberty on the game-winning two-point conversion on a handoff to Ian Johnson, who took it in for the two points and the win. Zabransky was named 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Offensive Player of the Game.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] Houston Texans
Zabransky was not chosen in the 2007 NFL Draft. However, on April 30, 2007 he signed a free agent contract with the Houston Texans.[1] He was issued uniform number 15. He was released on August 31, 2007; however, on September 3, 2007 Zabransky was selected to be a member of the practice squad. However, unlike most coaches who prefer to have three quarterbacks on the active roster, Head Coach Gary Kubiak prefers having two quarterbacks and cut Zabranksy on September 18 2007.
[edit] Pittsburgh Steelers
On February 5, 2008, Zabransky signed a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
[edit] Media
Jared told ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit in an interview that he could throw a potato 80 yards. The comment has been referenced in the video games NCAA Football 07 and NCAA Football 08 where Herbstreit will sometimes say "That reminds me of the time that kid at the Liberty Bowl told me he could throw a potato 80 yards." [2] Herbstreit was a color commentator at the 2004 Liberty Bowl, Zabransky's first Bowl game as a starter.
On February 28, 2007 it was announced that Zabransky would grace the cover of EA's video game NCAA Football 08.[3] He is the second of the game's cover athletes to date to go undrafted, after its first feature athlete, Tommie Frazier on College Football USA 97.
[edit] References
- ^ Burke, Kerith (2007-04-30). UPDATE: A dozen Broncos go pro as of Monday. KTVB.com Idaho News Now. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
- ^ Cripe, Chadd (2006-10-31). Boise State Football Camp Report: 'Z' comment immortalized. IdahoStatesman.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
- ^ Sanner, Chris (2007-02-28). Jared Zabransky to be the NCAA 2008 Coverman. MaddenMania.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Troy Smith |
Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP 2007 |
Succeeded by Pat White |
| Preceded by Reggie Bush |
NCAA Football Cover Athlete 2008 |
Succeeded by Darren McFadden |
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