John Friesz

Infobox NFLretired


|position=Quarterback
number=17
birthdate=birth date and age|1967|5|19
Missoula, Montana
deathdate=
debutyear=1990
finalyear=2000
draftyear=1990
draftround=6
draftpick=138
college=Idaho
teams=
* San Diego Chargers (1990-1993)
* Washington Redskins (1994)
* Seattle Seahawks (1995-1998)
* New England Patriots (1999-2000)
stat1label=TD-INT
stat1value=45-42
stat2label=Yards
stat2value=8,699
stat3label=QB Rating
stat3value=72.3
nfl=FRI395510
CollegeHOF=90103

John Melvin Friesz (born May 19, 1967 in Missoula, Montana) is a former professional football player, a quarterback who played for four NFL teams.

Friesz grew up in Coeur d'Alene in northern Idaho. He was a football standout at [http://www.cdaschools.org/chs/ Coeur d'Alene High School] , graduating in 1985. He enrolled at the University of Idaho, recruited by head coach Dennis Erickson, after attending the Vandal football camps while in high school.

College career

Friesz redshirted in 1985, and in 1986 under new head coach Keith Gilbertson, he served as the backup to Scott Linehan, who would go on to coach the St. Louis Rams. He was also a teammate of guard Mark Schlereth who would also play in the NFL.

Friesz was the Vandals starting quarterback for three years, beginning in 1987, when he threw 28 TD passes as a sophomore and was named player of the year in the Big Sky Conference and second team All-American (Division I-AA). In his junior season of 1988, he guided the Vandals to a 9-1 regular season and two playoff wins, ending the season with a road loss in the Division I-AA semi-finals. He was a consensus All-American selection at quarterback.

In his senior season in 1989 (the first for new head coach John L. Smith), Freisz threw 31 touchdowns and for over 4000 yards in guiding the Vandals to their third consecutive conference championship. Idaho went undefeated in conference play (8-0), the only time in school history. Friesz averaged over 360 yards per game and passed for over 300 yards in ten consecutive games. He received the Walter Payton Award as the outstanding player in the nation in Division I-AA.

In his college career, #17 passed for over 10,000 yards and was the conference player-of-the-year for three consecutive years. The Vandals' annual MVP award has been renamed the "John Friesz Award" in his honor.

In August 2006 John Friesz was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana. [http://collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=90103] His #17 was officially retired by the University of Idaho in October 2006. [http://www.uiargonaut.com/content/view/2691/50/]

Pro career

In the 1990 NFL Draft, Friesz was the tenth quarterback selected, taken in the sixth round (138th overall) by the San Diego Chargers. [http://nfl.com/draft/history/years/1990] Other quarterbacks in this draft were Jeff George (#1 overall pick), Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware, future Super Bowl starter Neil O'Donnell, and Scott Mitchell.

Friesz became the starting quarterback for the Chargers in 1991, his second season. He incurred a season-ending injury in a pre-season game in 1992, at which time the Chargers acquired Stan Humphries from the Washington Redskins.

John Friesz played with four teams in his NFL career: Chargers (1990-93), Redskins (1994), Seahawks (1995-98), and Patriots (1999-2000). Friesz passed for over 8,600 yards and 45 touchdowns in his pro career. [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/FrieJo00.htm]

External links

* [http://collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=90103 College Football Hall of Fame] - John Friesz
* [https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17100&ATCLID=1456219 University of Idaho - Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame] - John Friesz
* [http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/wac/idaho/yearly_results.php?year=1985 College Football Data Warehouse] - Idaho Vandals results 1985-89
* [http://www.i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=78435 College Football Hall of Fame] - Class of 2006 press release - from I-AA.org
* [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/FrieJo00.htm Pro Football Reference.com] - John Friesz
* [http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=FRIESJOH01 Database Football.com] - John Friesz
* [http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/players.nsf/ID/07110060 Pro football statistics] - John Friesz
* [http://nfl.com/draft/history/years/1990 NFL.com] - 1990 NFL Draft - # 138
* [http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/nhb/archive.asp?postID=8105 Blog] - from Spokesman Review.com
* [http://www.uiargonaut.com/content/view/2691/50/ Friesz resonates on the field] - UI "Argonaut", 10-Nov-2006