Mike Stephans

Mike Stephans was an American football player for the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights. He was the team's starting quarterback in 1996.

College

Stephans was from Morristown, New Jersey.^[1] He played both baseball and football.^[2] As a football player, he was a quarterback and was a walk-on at two different colleges.^[3]

Stephans made the Rutgers Scarlet Knights roster in 1996, when he was a senior. He started the season as the third-string quarterback behind Corey Valentine and Ralph Sacca.^[4] During the first Rutgers game, a win over Villanova, Stephans played in the second half and completed two of four passes for 29 yards. He also had one rushing touchdown.^[1] The following week against Navy, he again received some playing time in the second half; he was 2 for 10 passing for 29 yards, and the Scarlet Knights lost.^[4]

Before the third game against #10 ranked Miami, Rutgers coach Terry Shea announced that Stephans would be the starter.^[3][4] "Mike has a strong arm and is just what the team needs to have," said Shea. "He's probably the most gifted of our three passers, but he's had no chance."^[4] It was Stephans' first collegiate start, and he completed 9 of 26 passes with two interceptions in a 33-0 loss.^[3][5]

Stephans continued to see action during the next few games. On October 12, he was 16 for 34 passing with 246 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Army.^[6] However, in a game against Boston College, Stephans broke his left thumb and missed some time the rest of the year because of that.^[7][8]

Overall, Stephans finished the 1996 season with 918 passing yards and four touchdowns.^[6] He led the Scarlet Knights in both passing yards and total offense yards (829).^[9]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Cavanaugh, Jack. "Rutgers's Bad Start Becomes a Victory". nytimes.com. September 1, 1996. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
2. ^ Wallace, William N. "Lowly Rutgers No Match for Miami". nytimes.com. September 13, 1996. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Ferguson, Green to Return for MU". Lakeland Ledger. September 11, 1996.
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Tatum, Kevin. "Rutgers Gives Third-String QB Starting Job". articles.philly.com. September 10, 1996. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
5. ^ Cyphers, Luke. "Canes Blow Out Rutgers". articles.nydailynews.com. September 13, 1996. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
6. ^ ^{a b} Boyles, Bob and Guido, Paul (2007). 50 Years of College Football. Skyhorse Publishing Inc. pp. 584-1156.
7. ^ Robbins, Lenn. "Rutgers QB a Maybe". highbeam.com. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
8. ^ Mallozzi, Vincent M. "Rutgers Self-Destructs Early and Often". nytimes.com. November 10, 1996. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
9. ^ "Rutgers Football Year-by-Year Leaders". scarletknights.com. Retrieved November 19, 2011.

Persondata
Name	Stephans, Mike
Alternative names
Short description	American football quarterback
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death