Brooks Bollinger

Infobox NFLactive

---

caption=Brooks Bollinger at the Vikings 2008 Training Camp.
currentteam=Dallas Cowboys
currentnumber=5
currentposition=Quarterback
birthdate=birth date and age|1979|11|15
birthplace=Bismarck, North Dakota
heightft=6
heightin=1
weight=205
debutyear=2004
debutteam=New York Jets
college=Wisconsin
draftyear=2003
draftround=6
draftpick=200
pastteams=
* New York Jets (2003-2005)
* Minnesota Vikings (2006-2007)
* Dallas Cowboys (2008-present)
status=Active
highlights=
* Big Ten Freshman of the Year (1999)
* Unitas Golden Arm Award finalist (2002)
statweek=17
statseason=2007
statlabel1=TD-INT
statvalue1=8-8
statlabel2=Passing yards
statvalue2=2,155
statlabel3=QB Rating
statvalue3=75.2
nfl=BOL549216

Brooks Bollinger (born November 15, 1979 in city-state|Bismarck|North Dakota) is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin.

Bollinger has also played for the Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets.

Early years

Bollinger played quarterback for Central High School in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He played in every game while attending the school and passed for 40 touchdowns and ran for 19 more.

He was also drafted twice by the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, both times in the 50th round.

College career

Bollinger was a four-year starting quarterback for the University of Wisconsin- Madison, WI. In 2000, Bollinger, a redshirt freshman starter, assisted the Badgers in their second straight Rose Bowl victory along with teammate and Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne. The following year, Bollinger played in the Sun Bowl and defeated the UCLA Bruins. During his third year, the Badgers could not match the success of the two previous seasons as they posted a 5-7 overall record and did not earn a bowl game berth. Bollinger ended his collegiate career with an overtime victory over the Colorado Buffaloes in the Alamo Bowl. Bollinger finished with a 30-12 record as a starter at UW, a 3-0 bowl game record, and the school's rushing record for quarterbacks with 1,767 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Professional career

New York Jets

Bollinger started his Jets career in 2003. As the sixth round draft pick, Bollinger was benched for the entire year while Vinny Testaverde and Chad Pennington led the team as quarterbacks. His idle NFL career ended in 2004, when he replaced an injured Quincy Carter to take his first snap in an NFL game against Arizona. Bollinger completed 5 of 9 passes for 60 yards.

Bollinger did not play again until 2005, when first and second-string quarterbacks Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler were both injured in a game against Jacksonville. This unfortunate series of events kickstarted Bollinger's career as the quarterback for the Jets. After the incident, Jets head coach Herman Edwards tried to bring experience at the QB position to the team by signing veteran quarterback Vinny Testaverde. The 41-year-old Testaverde failed to perform up to expectations and was benched for Bollinger. Bollinger kept improving with experience and finished the season strong as the starter with a 2-7 record. Brooks also won honors as the Jets Most Valuable Player for the month of December, including his first 300+ yard passing game versus Miami on December 18th 2005.

Minnesota Vikings

Bollinger was traded to the Minnesota Vikings in 2006 for defensive tackle C. J. Mosley and a draft pick where he was reunited with new head coach Brad Childress, his Offensive Coordinator in college. After a game against the Chicago Bears in which Vikings starting QB Brad Johnson threw 4 INTs, Bollinger came in and replaced him. He threw for 70 yards (with seven completions on nine attempts), before he was injured and replaced by rookie Tarvaris Jackson. The injury kept him sidelined through most of his 2006 season.

After some shaky preseason and early season relief efforts in 2007, Bollinger was listed as the 3rd string quarterback on the Minnesota Vikings depth chart. [ [http://www.nfl.com/teams/minnesotavikings/depthchart?team=MIN Minnesota Vikings Depth Chart ] ] While keeping a positive focus for his team, in early November 2007 Brooks Bollinger was ready once again to play his part in the role of the starting quarterback position for an NFL team after yet another series of 'unfortunate' incidents of injuries and failed performances by 1st and 2nd string quarterbacks Tarvaris Jackson and veteran Kelly Holcomb. Bollinger was able to start for the Vikings in week 10 against the Packers, but after a terrible performance by the Vikings in a 0-34 loss, Bollinger was listed as the 2nd string QB for week 11 with Jackson taking back the starting position.

In 2008, the Minnesota Vikings drafted USC quarterback John David Booty in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. This meant that Bollinger would be fighting for a third string spot with Booty behind Tarvaris Jackson and veteran Gus Frerotte. After a disappointing preseason, Bollinger lost the third-string spot and was released by the Vikings on August 30th 2008.

Dallas Cowboys

On September 8, 2008, Bollinger was signed by the Dallas Cowboys after the team waived wide receiver Mike Jefferson. Bollinger is listed as the third string QB and will be backing up successful starter Tony Romo and his back up, the very well accomplished, Brad Johnson.

External links

* [http://www.dallascowboys.com/team/team_biosPlayers.cfm?playerID=43344FE7-ACD4-571D-ED1624BD2DB44F10 Dallas Cowboys bio]
* [http://www.newyorkjets.com/team/all_time/player/865-brooks-bollinger New York Jets bio]
* [http://www.vikings.com/player_detail_objectname_brooks_bollinger.html Minnesota Vikings bio]