Joe Germaine

Infobox AFLactive


caption =
currentteam =Free agent
currentnumber =--
currentpositionplain =Quarterback
birthdate =birth date and age|1975|11|16
birthplace =Denver, Colorado
heightft =6
heightin =2
weight =220
debutyear =2005
debutteam =Arizona Rattlers
college =Ohio State
pastteams =
* St. Louis Rams (1999 - 2000)
* Kansas City Chiefs (2001)
* Cincinnati Bengals (2002)
* San Diego Chargers (2004)*
* Arizona Rattlers (2004 - 2005)
* Utah Blaze (2006 - 2008):*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
status =Active
highlights =
* Rose Bowl Player of the Game (1997)
* Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year (1998)
* Chicago Tribune Silver Football (1998)
* Super Bowl champion (XXXIV)
* Ohio State Football All-Century Team (2000)
afl =98466

Joseph Berton Germaine (born August 11, 1975 in Denver, Colorado) is an arena football quarterback who is currently a free agent in the Arena Football League. He was originally drafted in the fourth round (101st overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. He played college football at Ohio State.

High School Years

Germaine attended Mountain View High School in Mesa, Arizona and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. After high school, he served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

College career

Germaine transferred to the Ohio State from Scottsdale Community College in Arizona in 1996. In 1996 and 1997, he was the backup to quarterback Stanley Jackson. Germaine’s most memorable moment in his years as a backup came at the 1997 Rose Bowl. He led the Buckeyes on a 65-yard drive in 12 plays in the final 1:40 for the winning touchdown, a five-yard touchdown pass to David Boston with 19 seconds left. Germaine passed for 131 yards in the game and was named the game’s MVP.

In his senior year, Germaine became the starter, as well as a team co-captain. That year he set 11 school records, throwing for 3,330 yards and 25 touchdowns. He was the Chicago Tribune Silver Football Award winner as the Big Ten Conference Most Valuable Player that year. He threw for 6,370 yards and 56 touchdowns in three seasons.

Germaine was selected to the Ohio State Football All-Century Team in 2000.

Career passing statistics

Professional career

National Football League

Germaine was selected in the fourth round (101st overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. He won a Super Bowl ring as a backup to Kurt Warner as a rookie. Germaine appeared in only three games, completing nine passes, and was cut at the end of the 2000 season. He also appeared in three games with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2001.

Arena Football League

In 2004 Germaine became a quarterback for the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League. There he was a back-up to Sherdrick Bonner who is widely considered to be one of the best quarterbacks in AFL history. After two seasons and six starts with the Rattlers, Germaine joined the expansion Utah Blaze in 2006. He started the first nine games of Utah's inaugural season, passing for 2,330 yards and 41 touchdowns while completing 67.4 percent of his passes. His season was cut short by an injury, but he returned in 2007 as the full-time starter. He became the first player in AFL history to pass for over 5,000 yards in a season. He finished with 5,005 yards, surpassing the record of 4,841 yards set by San Jose's Mark Grieb in 2006. In Octboer 2008, Germaine opted out of his contract with the Blaze, in hopes of returning to the Rattlers. [cite web |url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/127334 |title=Germaine opts out of Utah Contract |last=Bordow |first=Scott |work=EastValleyTribune.com |publisher="East Valley Tribune" |date=2008-10-03 |accessdate=2008-10-06]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.utahblaze.com/index.cfm?s=team&v=bio&id=68 Utah Blaze bio]
* [http://www.arenafan.com/players/Joe_Germaine-3924/ Stats at ArenaFan]
* [http://www.nfl.com/players/profile?id=GER485598 Profile] at NFL.com
* [http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/greats/osu-m-footbl-germaine.html Ohio State Athletics Archives: Joe Germaine]
* [http://bashafootball.org/Coaches/VarsityCoaches.htm Basha HS Football: Joe Germaine]